
Class 11^4^6 

Book, A 4 2 
GopigME" 



COFSRIGIfr DEPOStr. 



v 






INDIA 

ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



V / 






r I . /, 



INDIA 



ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, SOCIAL, 
AND RELIGIOUS; 

WITH A PAETICULAR ACCOimT OF THE STATE AND 
PKOSPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY. 



BY 



DAVID O. ALLEN, D.D. 

MISSIONARY OF THE AMERICAN BOARD FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN INDIA; 

MEMBER OF THE BOMBAY BRANCH OF THE ROYAL, ASIATIC SOCIETY ; AND 

CORRESPONDING MEMBER OFJCIiF: AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY. 




B O tt i'^D N : 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY. 
CLEVELAND, OHIO: 

JEWETT, PROCTOR AND WORTHINGTON. 

NEW YOllK : SHELDON, LAMPORT AND BLAKEMAN. 

LONDON: TRUBNER AND COMPANY. 

185 6. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's OfRce of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



CAMBRIDGE : 

ALLEN AND FARNHAM, STEREOTYPESS AND PRINTERS. 



^O 



»\rf- <».# 



>' 



PREFACE. 



The writer, on returning to this country after his long resi- 
dence in the East, observed in the frequent inquiries made 
concerning Lidia, much desire for information, and a great 
want of accurate knowledge concerning that country and its 
inhabitants. And when asked what work he could recommend 
as containing the information which so many were desirous to 
obtain, he was constrained to reply that he knew of no such 
work suited to the people of the United States. Many works 
on India have been published in England, where the political 
relation of the two countries naturally creates a strong and gen- 
eral deske for information. But some of these works contain 
only the History of British India, and others contain only 
one period of history, or describe only one part of the country ; 
aU perhaps well suited to the class of people far whom they 
were designed in England, but not adapted for general reading 
in the United States; while no one work contains such a 
summary of general and particular information as to make 
it suitable for importation in any considerable number, or 
for republication in this country. The Enghsh Journals, re- 
printed in the United States, contain many well written arti- 
cles upon India, but they were designed for England, and 
though well suited to the knowledge which the people there 
generally have concerning India and its inhabitants, they are 
not so well suited to the limited views of that country which 
people generally have in the United States. The rehgious jour- 
nals in tills country since the origin of Christian Missions to 



VI ■ PEEFACB. 

India, have contained much interesting information concerning 
the social state of the inhabitants. They also contain frequent 
reference to the political state of the country, and various other 
matters wMch excite a desne for further knowledge, but they no- 
where supply it, nor give information where it may be found. 

A work on India suited to the people of the United States, 
appeared to be a desideratum, and in endeavoring to supply this 
want, the writer has aimed to include as much information con- 
cerning India, ancient and modern, as people generally would 
wish to read, and to which they could refer as often as they 
might have occasion. Newspapers and other journals often 
contain religious and poUtical intehigence concerning India, 
which then' readers can but imperfectly appreciate for want of 
more knowledge of the country and its inhabitants. And if 
this is so in respect to allusions, sketches, and extracts in Ameri- 
can Journals, it is yet more so in respect to allusions, extracts, 
etc., contained in the Enghsh Reviews and Journals, as such 
articles were originally written for readers who have much more 
knowledge of India than the people of the United States gen- 
erally have. 

In no country have the inhabitants retained their religion, 
their superstitions, and their social and local usages for so long 
time, and with so little change, as in India. The religion of the 
ancient Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, and 
the Romans, had great influence in forming the character of 
those nations. But they have all passed away, and their char- 
acter and religion can now only be known from their history, 
and from those monuments and ruins of which the present gen- 
eration in those countries, know neither the origin nor the 
meaning. But in India, the religious system which existed in 
the time of the Pharaohs, of Nebuchadnezzar, of Cjtus, of 
Solon, and of Romulus, still continues, and its influence is seen 
in the present state and character of the inhabitants. This 
remarkable fact invests the ancient history of India with great 



PEEFACE. VU 

interest, and all who would understand the present state of the 
country and be able to appreciate the peculiar character of the 
people, must begin with their ancient history and primitive 
institutions. 

The history of India contains a series of successive periods 
and changes. The first period was its state as indicated by 
fragments of its history and the state and character of the rude 
and uncivilized tribes, in some districts, who are the descend- 
ants of the aborigines. The first great change was the invasion 
of the power, religious or political, probably both united, which 
established Brahminism, or what is frequently called Hinduism. 
The second disturbing cause was Budhism, which originated in 
India, and after a long struggle with Brahminism, was ex- 
pelled and took refuge in Ceylon and the countries east from 
India, as Burma, Siam, and China. The third cause was the 
invasion and conquest of the country by the Mohammedans, 
who were the predominant power for several hundred years. 
The fourth disturbing cause was the invasion of the country by 
the European nations, as the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, 
and the EngKsh. These causes and their consequences ap- 
peared naturally to suggest the following order for this work, 
namely. Ancient India, or the Hindu Period, the Mohammedan 
Period, the European Period, the Enghsh Government of India, 
the Religion, Customs, Manners, etc. of the Inhabitants, the 
History of Christianity, and its Present State and Prospects. 
Nothing has been inserted without having what appeared to be 
sufficient authority, and in conflicting statements, those have 
been used which appeared to have the most evidence in their 
favor. 

The work has been prepared with a view to exhibit the state 
and character of the people of India, and the causes now in 
operation to change their state and character. The history and 
state of the southern nations of Asia, at the commencement of 
this century, showed that there was little reason to hope for any 



VUl PREFACE. 

improvement among them without some great political and 
moral changes. They had made but little progress for 2 or 
SjOOO years, and they appeared not to possess among themselves 
any power for political improvement, or for making any further 
progress in civilization. Within a century past great political 
changes have taken place, and are still in progress through the 
agency of foreign power and conquest. In these changes the 
people of the United States have had no direct agency, and 
no responsibility. Great moral changes have also commenced, 
and are in progress. In these changes, many in this country 
have taken an important part. The first missionaries who left 
the United States for the heathen world, proceeded to India, 
and there commenced the earliest American missions. From 
that time India has continued to share largely in the prayers 
and contributions of many people in the United States. And it 
is believed that more knowledge of that country and its inhabi- 
tants, and of the results of the missionary enterprise and of the 
facOities which now exist for promoting it, would excite increas- 
ing interest in this cause. 

In 1827, the writer went to India, expecting to pass his life in 
the missionary cause in that country. And such continued to 
be his purpose till the failure of his health in 1853, made it neces- 
sary for him, if he would reserve himself for any thing more in 
life, to return to his native country. Compelled thus to relin- 
quish his purpose of spending his life in the foreign missionary 
field, he has prepared this work in the hope of exciting feelings 
of more interest in the foreign missionary cause, and an increas- 
ing spirit of prayer and effort for the propagation of Christianity 
in India, and the other countries in the south part of Asia. 

D. 0. A. 

Boston, Oci. 1, 1855. 



CONTENTS. 



PAET I. 

GEO GRAPHY. 

PAGE 

Name and Boundaries, 1 

Climate and Seasons, 2 

Diseases, 8 

Mountains, Rivers, etc., 10 

Population, 14 

Animals, etc., 14 

Minerals, etc., 16 



PART II. 

HISTORY. 
CHAPTER L — The Hindu Peeiod. 

Hindu Chronology, 18 

Aboriginal Inhabitants, 21 

Origin of the Hindus and Hinduism, ....... 23 

Alexander the Great, his Invasion of India, 27 

State of India from the Invasion of Alexander to the Mohammedan Con- 
quest, 31 

CHAPTER 11. — Mohammedan Period. 

Invasion from Persia, .......... 38 

Invasion of Mahmoud, of Ghlzni, 42 

House of Ghorl, A.D. 1160, 56 

(ix) 



X 




CONTENTS. 


Cuttub ud Deen and his Successors, 


A.r>. 1206, 


The House of 


Khiljee, 




" 1288, 


The House of Toghluck, 




" 1321, 


Tamerlane, 






" 1398, 


Baber, 






» 1526, 


Humayoon, 






" 1531, 


Acber, 






« 1556, 


Jehangheer, 






" 1605, 


Shah Jehan, 






" 1627, 


Aurungzeb, 






" 1657, 


The Successors of Aurungzeb, 




" 1706, 



60 

72 

83 

91 

94 

98 

103 

110 

114 

125 

139 



CHAPTEE III. — European Period. 

Discoveries and Conquests of the Portuguese, 152 

Commerce and Conquests of the English, 166 

History of Bengal till 1800, 173 

History of Madras till 1800, . 199 

History of Bombay till 1800, .231 

History of India from 1800 to 1850, . . .... 235 

Eemarks on the British Conquest of India, 286 



PART III. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 

The East India Company, 298 

The Administration of Justice, 304 

The Army, 306 

The Revenue, 312 

Education, 317 

Public Works, 326 

Government Connection with Idolatry, 331 

Native Princes, 338 

Remarks on the Government of India, 346 



PART IV. 

The European Population, 355 

The Indo-Britons, 359 



CONTENTS. 21 

PART V. 

THE NATIVE POPULATION. 

The First Keligion of India, . . . ... . . . .361 

Brahminism — The Vedas, . . . . . . . . . 363 

The Institutes of Menu, 366 

The Purans, 367 

The Supreme Being, 368 

Minor Deities, 373 

Brahma, .374 

Vishnu, 375 

Sheva, 381 

Other Hindu Deities, 383 

Demonolatry, 384 

Idols, 386 

Temples, 387 

Cave-Temples, 391 

Sacred Places, . ........... 396 

Priests and Spiritual Guides, 397 

Sacred Days, Worship, Rites, etc., 399 

Sacrifices and Offerings, 402 

Asceticism, Ascetics, and Devotees, 405 

The Future State, 408 

The Transmigration of Souls, 411 

Suttee, 416 

Suicide, Murder, and Human Sacrifices, 419 

Languages, Literature, and Education, 431 

Commerce, 438 

Agriculture, 441 

Manufactures, 447 

Architecture, 450 

Music, ■ 452 

Painting and Sculpture, . 453 

Astronomy, 454 

Medicine, 457 

Marriage, 458 

Polygamy, . . • 462 

Caste, . . . 465 

Customs and Manners, 474 

Budhism, 484 

Mohammedans, , 488 

Parsees, 494 



xii CONTENTS. 

PART VI. 

CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 

CHAPTER I. 

The SjTian Churches of Malabar, 497 

CHAPTER II. 

Roman Catholic IMissions and Church, 504 

CHAPTER III. 

Early Protestant Missions, . . . , . . . . . 525 

Present State of Protestant ^Missions, 536 

Tables. showing their Number and State, 337-539 

India has been opened for the Propagation of Christianity, • . . 545 
The English Government has withdrawn its support of the Religions of 

India, ............ 546 

Recent Laws on Religious Liberty and Protection, . ... . .547 

Polygamy, . 551 

Preaching, ............ 554 

Translations of the Scriptures, . . . . . . . . 559 

Christian Literature, 564 

Education, 666 

Native Agency, 573 

General Statements and Remarks, . . . . . . . 579 

Conclusion, . 585 



APPENDIX. 

Appendix A. 
State and Prospects of the English Language in India, . . . .591 

Appendix B. 
Character of Sanscrit Literature, . . . 598 

Appendix C. 
Remarks and Opinions concerning Polygamy, 601 

Appendix D. 
Notice of the " Tattwabodhini Sabha " in Calcutta, 609 



INDIA, 

ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



PART I. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

India has derived its name from the Indus, one of its largest 
rivers and generally considered part of its western boundary, 
separating it from Persia. This name was given to the country 
by the Persians, and thus it became known to the Greeks and 
Homans. The name of the country in the Sanscrit language 
and in ancient works generally, is Bharat; it is sometimes 
called Bharatkhund, and also Jambhudwip. The name of 
Hindustan, which is often given to India in Europe and Amer- 
ica, is never applied to the whole country by Europeans living 
in India, nor by natives of the country. Hindustan is properly 
the name of that part of India which is north of the river Ner- 
budda or its latitude, excepting the provinces of Bengal on the 
east and of Gujerat on the west, which are generally known in 
the history of India by then* respective names. 

The name Hindustan, or Hindoostan, or Hindostan, was given 
to India by the Persians, and is composed of two Persian words, 
namely, Hindu signifying black, or in the plural, the blacks, or 
black people ; and stan signifying a place or country. So Hin- 
dustan in the Persian language signifies the country of the black 
people ; as Afghanistan is the country of the Afghans ; as in 
English, Negroland means the country of the negroes. 

The boundary of India on the south, is the ocean; on the 

1 



2 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

west, the ocean and the Indus; on the north, the Himalaya 
mountains; and on the east, the river Brahmaputra and the 
ocean, or the part of it called the Bay of Bengal. 

The extreme length of India from Cape Comorin to the 
mountains which form the northern boundary of Cashmere, 
exceeds 1,900 miles, and its breadth from the mouth of the Indus 
to the Brahmaputra exceeds 1,500 miles. Its area is estimated 
at 1,280,000 square miles. Thus it is larger than aU the United 
States which are east of the Mssissippi, and as large as aR 
Europe which is south of Russia and the Baltic Sea. 

India at some period of its history was divided into different 
kingdoms corresponding in some degree to the names by which 
the different parts or provinces are now known, though the 
names were somewhat different in ancient times. Some of 
these names were given by Europeans in their first intercourse 
with the country, and having become thus known in Europe 
they have been retained, somewhat as the names of many places 
originated in America and have been perpetuated. These divis- 
ions, as Malabar, Mysore, Carnatic, Deckan, Gujerat, Bengal, 
Bahar, etc., have not very accurately defined limits, and they are 
not now recognized as civil divisions or provinces by the gov- 
ernment. The divisions which have been introduced by the 
East India Company for economy and convenience in the affairs 
of government, have been often changed, and they are liable for 
the same reason to be changed again. The Mohammedans in 
estabhshing their power and administering the government of 
the country in many instances changed the names of provinces, 
cities, and villages. But the English have made no such 
changes, and the names of the distiicts, cities, and towns have 
been continued, and they are likely to continue as they have 
been for two or three centuries past, and as they are known m 
the modern history and geography of the country. The differ- 
ent parts of India wiU therefore be referred to by their usual 
names and these names wall be in the usual orthography. 

CLIIMATE AND SEASONS. 

A country extending nearly 2,000 miles in length in a line 
nearly north and south, must necessarily have great variety of 



GEOGRAPHY. 6 

climate and seasons. More than half of India is situated within 
the tropics ; its northern limit is in the latitude of South Caro- 
lina, and nine tenths of it is further south than New Orleans. 
Thus situated, the climate of the country generally, as might be 
expected, is hot, — in some parts very hot. The temperature is 
affected by proximity to the sea-coast and elevation above the 
sea as well as by the latitude. In the provinces on the sea-shore 
on the eastern and western side of the peninsula, the heat is 
moderated by the sea-breezes, and the extremes of heat and cold 
are much less than inland places in the same latitude. In the 
provinces situated within the tropics or to the south of a line 
drawn from Calcutta to Cambay, the heat is everywhere severe 
in the hot months, and ice or frost is seldom seen in the cold 
months. The houses, whether European or native, with the 
exception of a few sanatory stations on the highest hills, have no 
chimneys or conveniences of any kind for using fire for comfort 
in any part of the year. In the great plains bordering on the 
Ganges and the Indus, which are low and remote from the sea, 
the heat is generally very severe in the hot months. The ex- 
tremes here are greater than in the southern provinces. In the 
northern provinces snow and ice are frequent m the winter 
months. 

The heat of the sun in India is more intense than in the 
United States when at the same altitude. The difference is also 
much greater there between the temperature in the sun and in 
the shade than it is in this country. Hence exposure to the 
rays of the sun is often injurious and is carefully to be avoided 
by aU who have European constitutions, when no injury would 
be experienced from them in America. Europeans cannot 
endure the labor and continued exertion in India, which they 
can and do in their native cHmate. The injury and sufferings 
experienced vary according to the difference of temperature, 
peculiarity of constitution, habits of living, etc. But in all the 
Lot districts such exposure, labor, and continued exertion soon 
produce prostration of strength, disease, and death.* This fact 

* Perhaps the inquiry may occur how can this fact or opinion be reconciled 
with the conquest and government of the country by the Enghsh ? An answer 
to this inquiry will be found when we come to treat of the Bi'itish conquest and 
administration of India in another part of this work. 



4 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

is as well established and as well known to all Europeans in 
India, as it is that they differ in complexion and personal appear- 
ance from the natives of the country. The native constitution 
has become adapted to the chmate, and compared with Euro- 
peans they suffer but Httle from the heat. The lower classes 
will carry on their agricultural and other occupations daily, and 
will continue in their usual health in places and circumstances 
where Europeans generally would soon faU, sicken, and die.* 

The sensation of cold and the suffering from it, are greater in 
India than in Europe and America at the same temperature. 
This soon becomes obvious to people on their first beginning to 
reside in that country, and such continues to be their experience. 
The native population are easily affected by the cold, and they 
suffer much from it. This arises in part from their pecuHar con- 
stitution, adapted as it is to endure heat and enjoy a hot climate, 
and partly from their not having sufficient and suitable clothes, 
houses, etc. 

The temperature of any place, as already remarked, depends 
upon its elevation and distance from the ocean as well as upon 
its latitude. This is more obvious in hot than in cold climates. 

* While a change from the climate of Europe or of the United States at 
once to a tropical climate produces this effect on the same constitution, there 
can be no reasonable doubt that if the European constitution should be gradu- 
ally subjected to the influence of a tropical climate through several generations, 
perhaps through several centuries, it would become as much adapted to the 
climate of India as the constitutions of the Hindus now are. Perhaps it would 
require as long to effect this change by each successive generation proceeding 
to a hotter climate, as it does to produce the complexion of the southern Asiatics. 
No one can proceed from England or any country in its latitude to the south 
cape of India or Ceylon, examining all the intermediate classes of people, with- 
out becoming satisfied that the difference in complexion is to be found In the 
climate and other cooperating causes. The complexion of the Jews wherever 
found confirms this opinion. When dispersed from Judea at the destruction of 
Jerusalem, the Jews being of common origin and living in a small country must 
have been of the same complexion. But now, wherever they have lived for 
several centuries and followed the occupations, customs, habits, etc., of the other 
classes of the inhabitants, they have become of the same comjjlexion Avith them. 
The Jews in India, whose ancestors settled there many centuries ago, have 
become of the same complexion as other classes of the people of similar occu- 
pations and in similar circumstances. The same is true of the Jews settled in 
Arabia, Eg}pt, and westci'n Asia, compared with other classes of the inhabitanta 
in those places, as I saw when I was In those countries. 



GEOGRAPHY. 5 

The mean temperature of January in Calcutta is 67° ; in Mad- 
ras it is 77°, and in Bombay 78°. 

The mean temperature of May, which as it precedes the 
rainy season, is generally the hottest month of the year, in Cal- 
cutta is 83° ; in Madras it is 87° ; and in Bombay 85°. In New 
York, Philadelphia, and Boston, the mean temperature of July 
does not generally exceed 70°, thus showing the difference in the 
hottest weather to be 15°. These facts show that the average 
temperatm-e of the coldest months in some of the largest cities 
in India, is several degrees higher than the average temperature 
of the hottest month in the large cities of the United States. 

In the peninsular part of India fires are not generally neces- 
sary for comfort in houses, and chimneys are seldom seen. Cook- 
mg is usually done in out-houses. Various means are used in 
the hot months to mitigate the heat and to make houses com- 
fortable. The more common way is to suspend a ventilator 
called punka in the rooms, which are generally high. Punkas 
are generally smaU. frames covered with cloth and in the form of 
a board or plank, its length varying with the room or part to be 
ventilated, and its breadth from 18 to 36 inches. Punkas are 
suspended by ropes so that they can be swung just over the 
heads of persons standing, and when swung they produce an 
agreeable circulation of the air. These punkas are much used 
in houses, offices, churches, etc. Another method is to hang 
curtains of bamboo and other materials before doors and win- 
dows, and these being kept constantly wet, the air passing 
through them is cool. Another method is to place a ventilator 
constructed somewhat like a winnowing machine in some cen- 
tral part of the house, and by worldng it and hanging wet cur- 
tains over the doors, the air is kept moist and cool. Some such 
means for cooling the atmosphere are as necessary for people in 
health or in sickness in India, as fires in stoves and furnaces are 
for comfort in the United States in the winter season. 

In the valleys and plains of the interior of the peninsula, and 
of the Ganges and the Indus, the temperature in the hot months 
is often greater than it is in Calcutta, or Madras, or Bombay, 
and in the cool months the cold is greater. The temperature 
also fluctuates more in such districts in any given time, as in a 

1* 



6 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

day or a week, and the extremes of heat and cold are greater in 
the course of a year. 

In nothing does India differ more from Europe and America 
than in the seasons. The year is not divided there into seasons 
of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and these words are 
seldom if ever used in reference to that country. Instead of the 
seasons current in the temperate climates, the common division 
of the year in India is into the rainy and fair seasons. In the 
central and northern provinces they sometimes speak of the 
rainy season, the cool season, and the hot season, or months. 
And in some provinces on the eastern side of the peninsula, 
they sometimes speak of the year as divided into the south-west 
monsoon and the north-east monsoon. 

The rainy season, generally called the monsoon, is commonly 
reckoned to include four months, namely, June, July, August, 
and September. It comes from the south-west, and the clouds 
pour down the accumulated stores they have been gathering for 
some months over the Indian Ocean. The approach is indi- 
cated in the latter part of May by the atmosphere becoming 
hazy and moist, by large banks of watery-looking clouds in the 
afternoon, and by white fleecy clouds resting on the hills and 
mountains for some hours in the morning. These phenomena 
are so sure indications of its approach that people accustomed 
to observe them, are seldom overtaken by surprise. In some 
provinces, especially in the mountain districts and on the table- 
lands, there is much heavy thunder and vivid lightning at the 
commencement and again at the close of the rainy season. 
The monsoon commences at Cape Comorin and proceeds 
northward extending over aU parts of India, except a tract on 
the Coromandel Coast. The greatest quantity falls in the low 
provinces near the sea and in mountainous districts. On the 
western coast of the peninsula the quantity varies from 70 to 
100 inches. On the eastern coast the quantity is generally less. 
So also in the Deckan and in the great vaUey of the Ganges. 
On the Ghat mountains the quantity of rain that falls in the 
four months of the monsoon often exceeds 200 inches, and 
sometimes amounts to 300 inches. The tops of some of these 
liigh mountains are enveloped in thick fog and clouds, and have 



GEOGRAPHY. 7 

almost incessant rain for several months. The cascades formed 
by the floods of rain at this season are often sublime and 
beautiful. 

The Coromandel Coast is so much sheltered by the moun- 
tains and high table-land of Mysore on the south-west that but 
little rain falls in the months, which in other parts of India are 
called the rainy reason. The provinces on this coast have their 
rain chiefly in the months of October and November, and it 
comes from the Bay of Bengal. Hence the inhabitants there 
speak of the south-west monsoon and of the north-east monsoon. 
In Bengal the rains come generally from the south, and the 
same clouds pass over the great valley of the Ganges, gradually 
turning to the north-west in the direction of the chain of the 
Himalaya mountains till they reach Cashmere and the Punjab, 
where the rains become comparatively light. 

The rainy months are the natural season of production oyer 
all India. The earth, having become dry and hot, often to the 
depth of several feet, absorbs the first heavy rains. But the 
ground soon becomes saturated, and the warm state of the earth 
and of the atmosphere day and night adds force and vigor to the 
ordinary productive powers of nature. Vegetation springs up 
with a degree of rapidity and grows with a luxuriousness quite 
unknown in temperate climates. The change in the whole 
face of nature is great and surprising. In a few weeks aU the 
tanks and ponds are full. Streams flow in channels where there 
had been no water for months, and rivers which had become 
almost dry, fiU their channels, and bursting their banks occasion 
great damage. The rains close gradually, continuing longer 
in some provinces than in others. September is included in the 
rainy season, though generally on the sea-shore and in the large 
and low plains but httle rain falls in this month. In the moun- 
tainous districts and on high table-land the rains often continue 
into October, and then close with heavy showers and much 
thunder and lightning. 

From the close of the rainy season till June, the weather over 
the greater part of the country is fan*. There is seldom a 
shower of rain or a cloudy day. The atmosphere, especially in 
the mornings, is often smoky and foggy. The ground is dry 
and parched, and the wind often raises clouds of dust. Vege- 



8 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

tation except now and then in spots cultivated by irrigation, 
becomes dry and apparently dead. Cattle, horses, etc., graze 
wherever they can find any thing to eat, but they become lean 
and require fodder, which is provided for them in the rainy sea- 
son, as provision is made in America in summer to supply the 
wants of winter. Trees, whether scattered or in forests, gener- 
ally retain their leaves, but they have not the verdure and fresh- 
ness of the rainy season. They must root deep in the ground 
and reqmre little moisture, or they would dry up and perish dur- 
ing such a di'ought and heat of seven or eight months' duration. 
Those districts which have no forests and few trees, appear bar- 
ren, dreary, and desolate. "Water fit to drink often becomes 
very scarce, the springs, wells, and streams drying up. In the 
months of March, April, and May, the mirage* often appears in 
great beauty for some hours in the naiddle of the day. In some 
districts hot winds blow for some hours in the middle of the 
day, and they are very withering and enervating. The change 
from the hot months to the rainy season is earnestly desired by 
aU classes, Europeans and natives. The temperatm-e then at 
once becomes cooler and humid, and the sky is overcast with 
clouds most of the time for several months. 



DISEASES. 

Cholera is believed to have originated in India and for many 
years its ravages were confined to that country, but it has now 
become known by sorrowful experience in nearly all parts of the 

* The following is an extract from the writer's journal when on a tour in the 
Deckan in 1836. " To day at several places on the road the atmospherical 
phenomenon called mirage, appeared in great variety and beauty. Sometimes it 
appeared like a broad river, flowing with a rapid current and agitated by the 
wind. In another place it exhibited the appearance of a lake, several miles in 
extent, studded with islands and ruffled with waves. This phenomenon is not 
uncommon in the Deckan, in the dry season. I have several times seen it before, 
but never in such variety and beauty as 1 saw it to-day. The name in the 
native language is mrugzul, literally deer-toater, and the people say it is so called 
because the deer, deceived in believing places exhibiting these phenomena to 
be streams and ponds of water, are often seen running to them, and then from 
one place to another, pursuing the floating vapor in the delusive hope of 
quenching their thirst." 



GEOGKAPHT. ■ 9 

world. It is generally committing its ravages in some parts of 
the country, and its appearance in any place does not excite 
much attention or anxiety, till cases of it have become fre- 
quent, and many of them have proved fatal. Great consterna- 
tion then seizes aU classes, and as many as can find means, 
escape for their lives, so that villages and even districts are for a 
while almost deserted. This disease has been a great scourge 
to India, and little progress has been made in ascertaining the 
causes, or discovering any remedy for it. Fevers, dysentery, 
hepatic affections, rheumatism, ophthalmia, and leprosy are fre- 
quent diseases. Of the last mentioned there are two or three 
different lands. One of these, called sometimes the black 
leprosy, I have no doubt is the disease described by Moses in 
the laws given to the Jews.* It is a dreadful disease, hereditary, 
contagious, and incurable. I do not wonder at the strictness 
of the laws of Moses concerning it. When an attack of 
disease becomes a clearly developed case of this kind of leprosy, 
the unhappy subject is separated from his family and all society, 
almost as much as such an one would have been of old among 
the Jews. Such persons often live for several years, and it is 
not easy to conceive of human beings more diseased, distTCssed, 
helpless, and hideous than they become. There is another kind 
of leprosy which appears to be the same as is mentioned in 
several places in the Scriptures.f This disease makes its first 
appearance in a small white spot or spots on some part of the 
body, which increase tUl the skin over the greater part and 
sometimes over the whole body becomes changed into a duE, 
dirty white color, the person thus exhibiting a very singular 
appearance. This disease does not occasion much suffering, 
and sometimes does not appear to affect the general health. It 
is said to be incurable and is considered a great affliction, 
though it does not, like the black leprosy, debar the sufierer from 
aU domestic and social intercourse. A disease called elephan- 
tiasis,, very frequent in some districts, has been regarded by 
many, though perhaps not properly, as a Idnd of leprosy. It has 
the appearance of leprosy and dropsy combined. The disease 
is chiefly confined to the lower Kmbs, which become much, 

* See IStli and 14tli chapters of Leviticus, 
t See Ex. 4 : 6. Num. 12 : 10. 2 Kings 5 : 27. 



10 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

swollen, heavy, and unwieldy, of very unsightly appearance, and 
are often m an inflamed and painful state. This disease is said 
to be incurable, but I am not aware that it occasions death. 

The climate of India generally is not healthy for Europeans ; 
indeed, to such persons some parts of the country are particu- 
larly unhealthy. But this is not the general character of the 
climate in respect to the native population. K the inhabitants 
of India could be as well supplied with wholesome food, have 
as comfortable clothing and houses, and when ill, could have as 
good medical attendance and care as the inhabitants of Amer- 
ica and Europe have, perhaps they would generally have as 
good health, though probably the average duration of human 
life would still be some years less. In aU classes both sexes 
arrive at puberty 2 or 3 years earlier than in Europe and 
America, and they appear to be as far advanced in life in their 
physical and mental faculties at 40 or 45 years of age, as the 
people of Europe and America do at 50 or 55 ; consequently 
the average duration of life among them must be considerably 
less. 

MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, ETC. 

Cape Comorin, the southern point of India, is the termination 
of the great mountain range commonly called in European 
geography the Ghats, but by the native population the Syadree 
mountains. They extend from Cape Comorin in a north-west 
direction nearly parallel with the coast at a distance varying 
from 30 to 50 mUes to latitude 21° or nearly 1,000 miles. Their 
height varies from 2,000 to 4,000 feet ; and in a few places it 
approaches 5,000 feet. These mountains rise abruptly on the 
west side from nearly the level of the sea, but on the east side 
the descent is small. They are generally covered with forests 
and their appearance adds much to the sublime and beautiful 
scenery visible from ships proceeding along the western coast. 
The Neilgherry Hills are east of the Ghats, betw^een latitude 
10° and 11°. They separate the table-land of Mysore from 
Travancore, and cover a considerable area. Some of these 
mountains rise to the height of 7,000 and 8,000 feet, and furnish 
scenery of great sublimity and beauty. Here are several impor- 
tant sanatory stations, which are much resorted to by Europeans. 



GEOGRAPHY. 11 

The climate varies but little through the year, and is delightfully 
cool and invigorating, when compared with the low country and 
the sea-coast. The country of Mysore is bounded on the east 
by a range of mountains which extend to the river Krishna or 
Kistna, but they are not so high as the Ghats near the western 
coast. 

In the north part of the Deckan is a range of high hiUs called 
the Sautpoora mountains, which are situated between the 
Taptee and Nerbudda rivers. The Nerbudda is generally 
regarded as the dividing line between the Deckan and Hindus- 
tan. On the north side of this river is a range of hills extend- 
ing for several hundred miles, called the Vindya mountains. 
The Himalaya mountains form the northern boundary of India, 
separating it from Thibet. These mountains extend from the 
Brahmaputra to the Indus, more than 1,000 miles. They are 
the highest mountains in the world, in some places exceeding 
27,000 feet.* As they rise from the valley of the Ganges to 
the regions of perpetual snow, they present every variety of 
chmate, fr-om the torrid to the frozen zone. The scenery of 
them from different places on the plain, and in ascending them, 
the views of the immense plains below and of the towering 
heights above surpass the expectations of aU who have described 
them. Says Bishop Heber, " We could see one range of 
mountains after another, quite as rugged and generally spealdng 
more bare than those we had left, till the horizon was terminated 
by a vast range of ice and snow, extending its battahon of 
white glittering spears from east to west as far as the eye 
could follow it, the principal points rising lilce towers on the 
ghttering rampart, but all connected by a chain of humbler 
glaciers." Says Raper, " From the edge of the scarp the eye 
extended over 7 or 8 distinct ranges of hills, till the view was 
terminated by the Himalaya or Snowy Mountains. It is 
necessary for a person to place himself in our situation before 
he can form a just conception of the scene. The depth of the 
vaUey below, the progressive elevation of the intermediate hills 
and the majestic splendor of the cloud-capt Himalaya, formed 

* Dhawalgirl is 27,462 feet, Juwaliir is 25,740 feet, Jumiiautri is 25,500. 
These mountains are higher than any other in the world, Chimborazo the high- 
est peak of the Andea being only 21,464 feet. 



12 INDIA, A-NCIENT AND MODERN. 

SO grand a picture that the mind was impressed with a sensa- 
tion of dread rather than of pleasure." Says Elphinstone, 
" The stupendous height of those mountains, the numerous 
nations by whom they are seen, and who seem to be brought 
together by this common object, and the awful and undisturbed 
solitude which reign amidst their eternal snows, fill the mind 
with admiration and astonishment which no language can 
express." 

Simla on the south-west side of the Himalaya, Darjeling in 
Bengal, Abu in Gujerat, Khandalla and Mahabuleshwur on 
the Ghats nearly east from Bombay, and Ootacummund, Khotta- 
gherry, and some other places on the Neilgherry and Pulney 
Hills in Mysore, are much resorted to as health-stations by 
Europeans, especially in the hot months. These hill-stations 
correspond in some degree to the watering places in America, 
as Saratoga, Newport, Cape May, etc. There is, however, this 
important difference. A large part of India is as hot upon an 
average through the year, as the cities in the United States are 
in the summer months. And so many of the people at these 
sanatory stations are persons, who, having become enervated by 
long residence in the low country, continue at these places 
especially at those in the southern part of the peninsula^ for 1, 
2, and 3 years. By these changes many are able to prolong their 
residence in India, and for some diseases the climate of these 
mountains is beheved to be the best that could be found in any 
country, better than a voyage on sea, or a residence in Europe 
or America. 

Bengal and the lands bordering on the Ganges, in some 
places for 100 utiles and more on each side of the banks, are 
perfectly level. In ascending this noble river the country 
appears for some hundred miles lilce an unUmited prairie. A 
large extent of country bordering on the lower part of the Indus, 
is level, and between this river and Ajmere is a sandy barren 
desert, extending for several hundred miles ahnost without 
cultivation or inhabitants. Very little rain falls over this large 
region, and the districts bordering upon it frequently suffer 
from drought and consequent famine. Gujerat is generally 
level but is fertile. In some parts of the Deckan are plains 
nearly level, extending as far as the eye can reach, while in. 



GEOGRAPHY. 13 

other places hills or mountains generally running in ranges 
diversify the face of the country. 

The Indus rises in Thibet north of the Himalaya mountains, 
runs first north-west and then south-west for several hundred 
miles, and enters India west of Cashmere. It receives large 
tributaries as the Sutlege, the Hydrastes, the Chenab, and the 
Hydaspis in the Punjab, and then flows nearly south into the 
Indian Ocean. Its whole course is 1,700 miles. Steamboats 
and various kinds of river craft ply upon it, but its navigation is 
much obstructed by sand-banks, sudden changes in the channels, 
inundations, and rapids. The Ganges rises among the Hima- 
layas on the south side, and flows through the most celebrated, 
fertile, and populous part of India for 1,600 miles into the Bay 
of Bengal. This river is held in great estimation by the Hin- 
dus, and particular places on it, as Hurdwar, Allahabad, and 
Benares, are among the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in 
India. There is much commerce on this river, but the sudden 
inundations, changes in the channel, etc., often make the navi- 
gation tedious and dangerous. The Brahmaputra is nearly as 
large and as long as the Ganges, but as it flows most of the 
distance through territories not subject to the English, it is not 
so well known, and is less used for commerce. The Nerbudda 
separates Hindustan from the Deckan. Its course is nearly 
west for 700 or 800 miles to the Gulf of Cambay. The channel 
of this river is very rocky. In the rainy season the current is 
so rapid, and in the hot season the water is so low, that there is 
but little commerce upon it. The same is true of the Taptee 
for most of its course of 500 miles into the Gulf of Cambay. 
The city of Surat is on this river a few miles from its mouth. 
AH the large rivers of the peninsula, as the Godavery, the 
Krishna, and the Cavery, flow into the Bay of Bengal. These 
rivers are very useful for irrigating the lands on their banks for 
cultivation, but the inundations and currents are so great and 
sudden in the rainy season, and the water is reduced so low in 
the dry season, that they are little used for manufactures or for 
commerce. The mouths of these rivers are also much obstructed 
by shallows and sand-banks. 

2 



14 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN, 



POPULATION. 

India appears to have been a populous part of the world 
from its earliest authentic history. It probably had as large a 
population 1,500 and 2,000 years ago and even before that time, 
as it has had for 200 and 300 years past since it became known 
to the nations of Europe. A census of Bengal and of some 
other parts subject to the EngUsh has been taken, but there has 
never been any census of the whole of India, and so the popu- 
lation of all the country must be a matter of estimation. Ham- 
ilton in his large work on India has given a table of the 
different provinces, exhibiting the population of each, as 
enumerated and estimated, and makes the total to be 134,000,- 
000. The authors of the Encyclopedia Britannica in an ably 
written and carefuUy prepared article on Hindustan, have also 
estimated the population at 134,000,000. Mr. McCulloch in 
his geography estimated the population at 131,750,000. Elphin- 
stone in his late work on India estimates the population by the 
best information he could obtain, at 140,000,000. These esti- 
mates were made before the conquest of Scinde and the Punjab. 
In the debates, reports, etc., in Parliament when the renewal of 
the East India Company's charter, or the future government of 
India, was lately under consideration, the entire population was 
assumed to be 150,000,000. This number included Scinde and 
the Punjab. Of this population some estimates make one 
eighth and others make one tenth part to be Mohammedans. — 
A more particular description of the different classes comprising 
this great population, will be given in another part of this work. 

ANIMALS, ETC. 

The elephant, either wUd or domestic, is found in aU parts of 
India. In their wild state they are found chiefly in the forests 
on the Malabar Coast, in Assam and Rajpootana. An elephant 
at his birth is about 3 feet high, and is said to be from 20 to 30 
years in attaining his fuU growth. Their common height is 9 
and 10 feet. In some extreme cases they are said to reach 11 
feet. They were formerly in great demand among the native 



GEOGRAPHY. 15 

powers for purposes of state, and were used in war. In the 
army of Porus, who resisted Alexander the Great in his invasion 
of India, were 200 war elephants. When Mahmoud of Ghizni 
invaded India, Jypal the Raja of Lahore came against him with a 
large army in which were " 350 chain elephants." Ferishta says 
that Mahmoud of Ghizni had at one time 1,300 war elephants, 
obtained chiefly from India, and that Acber near the close of his 
reign had 5,000, which appears not improbable considering his 
great wealth and power. The changes which have taken place 
in the political state and government of the country, and in the 
tactics and instruments of war since the invention of fire-arms, 
have greatly diminished the number and value of elephants. 
Lions are not unfrequent in the north-western provinces. The 
male differs from the African Uon, in having no mane. " The 
lion," says Bishop Heber, "which was long supposed to be 
unknown in India, is now ascertained to exist in considerable 
numbers in the districts of Saharunpore and Loodiana." Tigers 
are found in all parts of the country. The largest and fiercest 
tigers in the world are found in the lower part of Bengal in the 
large forests and jungles near the mouths of the Ganges and 
Brahmaputra. These are often called the royal Bengal tigers. 
The hunting of tigers was formerly a favorite sport of the em- 
perors and princes of the country. It is a favorite and often 
very dangerous sport of Europeans. Leopards are common 
and are large and fierce. The rhinoceros is found in the forests 
in the eastern provinces of Bengal. The camel is frequent in 
aU parts of India, and is much used for riding and carrying bur- 
dens. Horses are very common, but generally small. The best 
horses in India are brought from Arabia and Persia. Buffaloes 
are domesticated and kept for milk. Cattle are abundant. Bears, 
wolves, wild dogs, and hogs are abundant in some provinces ; so 
also are antelopes and deer of various kinds; also hyenas, 
monkeys, porcupines, jackals, foxes, etc. Sheep and goats are 
kept in great abundance. The wool of sheep is coarse, gener- 
ally black and of little value. The English have made repeated 
efforts to improve the quality of the wool of the Indian sheep, 
but with little effect. It has been found that if sheep with fine 
wool are taken from cold climates to India, their wool soon be- 
comes coarse lilce the indigenous sheep and so is of little value.* 



16 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Cross-breeding has not yet produced the results which were 
expected. The celebrated Cashmere shawls are made of the 
fine hair or wool of goats peculiar to that country. 

Of serpents there are many kinds ; the anaconda, or boa con- 
strictor, grows to a great size in the forests ; the much dreaded 
cobra, or cobra de capello, is very frequent ; there are many other 
kinds of poisonous snakes. Scorpions of different kinds are 
frequent. Musquitoes are so numerous and venomous that it 
is necessary in nearly all parts of the country in the hot months, 
and in many places through the year, to sleep under gauze cur- 
tains. Vultures, eagles, buzzards, peacocks, ducks, etc., abound 
in different parts of the country. Fish are abundant, and fisher- 
men are a numerous class on the sea-shore and along the large 
rivers. Alligators, turtles, etc., are found in the creeks and 
rivers. 

MINERALS, ETC. 

There are no gold or silver mines now wrought to any extent 
in India. Golconda was once celebrated for its diamonds, but 
these mines are not now wrought, and diamonds are seldom 
found. Cornelian and agates are found and exported in consid- 
erable quantities. Iron ore is abundant in several places, but 
the want or expense of fuel prevents these mines being wrought 
to any considerable extent, and so the country is chiefly supphed 
with iron from Europe. Marble is abundant in Rajpootana 
and rock salt in the Punjab. Saltpetre is produced in great 
quantities in Bengal, and much is exported to the European 
and American markets. Coal has been found in several places 
in Bengal, and is coming into extensive use. It has also been 
discovered on the banks of the Nerbudda, but for want of means 
of transportation it has been but little used. The railroads 
which have been projected and are now in the process of con- 
struction, will pass through these coal beds. The coal will then 
be available for manufactures and commerce, and its use for 
these purposes will form a new era in the history of India. 

Cotton is indigenous and is produced in abundance over 
several provinces. Its cultivation might be extended almost 
indefinitely. The sugar-cane is cultivated, and large quantities 
of sugar are exported. Indigo and siHt are produced and 



GEOGRAPHY. 17 

exported in large quantities to Europe and America. In some 
provinces the poppy is cultivated, and opium is one of the prin- 
cipal articles of export. Rice is cultivated in the low grounds 
of the peninsula, in Gujerat and in the great valley of the 
Ganges, and in all these provinces is the principal article of 
food. In districts where the nature of the soil or want of 
water wiU not admit of the cultivation of rice, wheat, barley, 
jowaree, bazaree and other kinds of grain are produced in 
abundance. The forests produce excellent wood for building 
and furniture. The teak, or Indian oak as it is sometimes called, 
has long been celebrated for its hardness and durabihty, and 
some of the best ships in the British navy and in their mercan- 
tile marine have been buUt in India. Elegant furniture is made 
of several different kinds of wood, among which is a kind of 
ebony called blackwood, and a species of mahogany called jack- 
wood. Of bamboos, there are several different kinds and all are 
applied to useful purposes. The pahn and cocoa-nut tree are 
abundant, the groves or forests often extending in the south- 
ern provinces for miles in every direction. 

It will be seen jfrom the above that India is rich in natural 
productions and resources. Of its manufactures and commerce 
some account will be given in another part of this work. 

2* 



PART II. 
HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE HINDU PERIOD. 

The early history of India is involved in much obscurity. 
There are no means of determining the date of any event pre- 
vious to the invasion of Alexander the Great, which is generally 
reckoned to have been 325 years before the Christian era. India 
was then found to be a civUized and populous country, contain- 
ing several separate and independent nations, and there was 
evidence that it had been such for several centuries.* Nor is it 
possible to find any authenticated facts, or to prepare any reg- 
ular, connected, and consistent history of the country for some 
centuries after that invasion. From that great event till the 
Mohammedan invasion, a period of more than 1,000 years, the 
history of India is nearly as obscure and the want of materials 
for compiling it is nearly as great, as they are in respect to the 
period before that country became known to the nations of 
western Asia and Europe by that memorable invasion of the 
great hero of antiquity. Indeed, history is a department of 

* " In reading any thing written about India, it is always necessary to bear 
in mind that India is only a name applied by Europeans to a great many coun- 
tries, peopled by different nations and races of men, as different from each 
other in language, habits, and customs, as the various nations inhabiting modern 
Europe. The natives do not know what we mean by India, unless we inform 
them. They speak of countries and nations in which the Hindu religion is pro- 
fessed only in the same way 'that we speak of countries and nations professing 
Christianity. India as one country, is unknown to them, unless they have an 
idea of the lands where their religion prevails, similar to what we have when 
we speak of Christendom. The Bengalee, the Hindustanee, the Mahratta, and 
the Tamulian, are as much men of different nations, as the English, the French, 
the Germans, and the Italians." — Buyers. 

(18) 



HISTOKT — THE HINDU PBKIOD. 19 

literature which was quite unknown, or at least uncultivated, 
among the ancient nations of India — a remarkable fact concern- 
ing a people so much civilized, and who have left so much hter- 
atm-e, and some of it of a high character on other subjects. 

And yet the Hindus have what they believe to be genuine 
histories of their country, contained in works which claim to 
be of divine origin. These works are their Purans and poems, 
written long ago, and stni held in great veneration. These 
works, if not of the nature of true history, yet show the state 
and character of the people of the ages when they were written. 
They have had much influence on the state and character of 
the people of modern India, and so are subjects of great 
interest. 

The first thing that strikes us in examining these works, is 
their extravagant claims to great antiquity. In this respect 
however the Hindus have only done like other ancient nations, 
who were not compelled to connect their origin with definite 
facts and acknowledged events. The Athenians boasted that 
they were as ancient as the sun. The Arcadians pretended 
that they were older than the moon. The Lacedaemonians 
called themselves the sons of the earth. The Egyptians pre- 
tended that they were older than any other nation. The Chal- 
deans pretended that they could show their history for 150,000 
years. The Burmese and the Chinese claim an origin yet more 
extravagant and incredible. But these pretensions to antiquity 
are supported by no well-authenticated facts or events, and 
they furnish no materials for connected and credible history. 

The Hindu chronology, as contained in their sacred books, 
consists of four periods called yugas. The first period is called 
the Satya yuga, and continued for 1,728,000 years from the 
creation. The second period is called the Tret yuga, and con- 
tinued for 1,296,000 years. The third period is called the 
Dwarpur yuga, and continued for 864,000 years. And the 
fourth period is called the Kalee yuga, which is the present age 
or period, and is to continue for 432,000 years. Of this last 
period, they believe nearly 5,000 years have passed. The 
amount of these four periods is 4,320,000 years.* They refer to 
longer periods than these, as 4,320,000,000 years make a kalpa 

* There Is some diiference in this chronology in different works. I have 
given the one that appears to have the most authority. 



20 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

or day of Brahm. Each kalpa contains 14 periods called 
manawantaras. Each manawantara contains 71 mota yugas, or 
great ages, and each mota yuga contains 4 yugas of unequal 
length. At the end of a kalpa the world is destroyed, but is to 
be renewed again. A comparison of these yugas with the 
Hindu astronomy, will show that they were fixed with refer- 
ence to certain supposed retrospective astronomical conjunc- 
tions or events. Their astronomers were Brahmins, the hered- 
itary priesthood, and their teachings and writings, whatever 
these might be, were received as true, and so these assumed 
eras became the generally believed chronology of the country. 

The same sacred books contain other things yet more mar- 
vellous. Thus it is asserted that in the Satya yuga, human life 
was 100,000 years, and the human stature was 21 cubits, or 
about 37 feet high. In the Tret yuga, life was reduced to 10,000 
years. In the Dwarpur yuga it was reduced to 1,000 years, and 
in the Kalee yuga — the present age — it has been reduced to 
100 years. Some of the ancient heroes are declared to haves, 
had 10 and 12 faces, and 15 and 20 arms. A celebrated king 
by the name of Sagur had 60,000 sons, aK born in a pumpkin, 
nourished in pans of milk, and aU consumed and reduced to 
ashes by the curse of one K.ishi. The sun is declared to be 
800,000 miles from the earth, and the moon to be twice as far, 
or 800,000 miles beyond the sun. The earth is flat and circular, 
and its chcumference is declared to be 4,000,000,000 mUes. 
Mount Sumeru * is declared to be 600,000 miles high, and to 
descend 128,000 miles below the surface of the earth. The 
changes of day and night are beUeved to be caused by the sun 
revolving around this mountain. So when it is day in the 
countries on the south side, it is night in those on the opposite 
side, etc. Their astronomy f and geography contain numerous 

* Probably tbis name was tben given to the Himalaya mountains, wbicb in 
tbat early age of tbe ■world "were unexplored and little known, and when in the 
course of time and geographical research these mountains and the countries 
around them became so well known as to show that these descriptions could 
not be applied to them, the brahmins said that Sumeru was to the north of these 
mountains in countries yet unexplored. And such is still the opinion of brah- 
mins and the great body of the Hindus who believe in the truth of these works. 

t The Purans say that the sun Is 800,000 miles, (100,000 yozuns) from the 
earth, and the moon is 800,000 miles beyond the sun. The constellations are 
800,000 miles beyond the moon. Mercury is 1,600,000 miles (200,000 yozuns) 



HISTOEY THE HINDU PERIOD. 21 

statements equally erroneous, absurd, and ridiculous. And as 
these rest on the same authority as thek chronology, it is obvi- 
ous that, as far as containing any authority of themselves, they 
are all to be regarded alike ; that is, not as works of fact but of 
fancy and fiction ; not as works of reason and revelation, but of 
romance and imagination.* 

It is evident that no reUance can be put in works containing 
such statements in chronology, geography, and astronomy. 
Doubtless some of the kings and sages, whose names are men- 
tioned and whose exploits and wisdom are celebrated in these 
works, were real personages, but the accounts of them are so 
intermixed with fancies and fables that no confidence can be put 
in them. The ancient history of India must be compiled from 
a discretionary use of such facts and fragments as can be gath- 
ered up, and these must be arranged according to the most 
approved chronology used in the history of other nations. 

ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS. 

The people we now commonly call Hindus and whose relig- 
ion is called Hinduism or Brahminism, were not the first 

beyond them, and Yenus is at tte same distance beyond Mercury. Mars is at 
the same distance beyond Venus. Jupiter is at the same distance from Mars, 
and Saturn at the same distance beyond Jupiter. From Saturn to Ursa Major is 
800,000 miles, and from Ursa Major to Druv (the polar star) is 800,000 miles. 
The residence of the chief gods is 8,000,000 miles beyond Druv, etc. 

* The following is from their Shasters : — Moimt Meru or Sumeru is of 
the shape of an inverted cone, and is 128,000 miles in circumference at the 
base, and 256,000 miles at the top. On this mountain are the different heavens 
of Vishnu, Sheva, Indra, etc. The clouds ascend about one third the height of 
the mountain. There are great mountains around the base, on which are trees 
8,800 miles high, and producing fruit as large as an elephant. Around this 
mountain are several countries, the farthest of which is surrounded by a salt 
sea. Beyond are six other seas, namely, the sea of sugar-cane juice, the sea of 
spirituous liquors, the sea of clarified butter, the sea of curds, the sea of milk, 
and the sea of fresh water. Beyond all these seas is a country of gold as large 
as the rest of the earth ; beyond this are chains of mountains, and then a land 
of darkness supposed to be hell. — Strange as these notions appear, they have 
been believed in India for many hundred years past. I have often seen maps 
of the earth drawn by the Hindus according to these notions, with mount Su- 
meru in the centre of it, and then the different seas encircling it. 



22 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

inhabitants of India. This is evident from the ancient history of 
the country (such facts and fragments as we have of it), and 
from the present state and character of the inhabitants. There 
are no means of ascertaining when the first inhabitants settled 
in the country. Probably it was soon after the dispersion of 
manjdnd from the great vaUey of the Euphrates. The climate, 
the fertility, and the rivers of India would naturally make it an 
inviting country for settlement. All records and aU traditions 
refer to the west and the north-west, as the source whence the 
population flowed into the country. The first inhabitants of 
Lidia were a rude people, who in the course of time became 
divided into different governments. The different languages 
stiU in use show the nations into which India was at some early 
period divided, while the rude tribes in different parts of the 
country, who have Httle or no knowledge of the Brahminical 
system are clearly the remains of the original population. The 
Bheels in central India, the Coolees in Gujerat, the Goands in 
Orissa, and the Shanars and other tribes or castes in the south- 
ern provinces of the peninsula, are scattered fragments of the 
aborigines, or earliest population of the country. They had not 
the distinctions of caste among them, and they had no sacred 
books. Their principal objects of worship were imaginary spir- 
itual beings, who were beheved to inhabit certain places, some- 
times to appear in a visible form, and to interpose as they pleased 
in human affairs. They had priests of their own class, who pre- 
tended and were beheved to have communication with these 
supposed spiritual beings and to be able, by incantations, 
prayers, offerings, and imprecations, to avert their displeasure and 
to secure their favor. Some of these beings were supposed to 
be benevolent, but they were generally beheved to be malevo- 
lent. Hence fear and dread were the predominant feeUngs in 
their rehgion, and their worship was chiefly designed to secure 
themselves and their interests from injury. If they could be 
assured that these beings would let them entirely alone and in 
no way trouble or hurt them, they wished for nothing more. 
They would ask for no favors from them. 

These beings were often supposed to be the spirits of persons 
who had died, and who from feehngs of sympathy, or affection, 
or envy, or revenge haunted certain persons and places. Proba- 



HISTORY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 23 

bly most of these beiiigs were supposed to be spirits of this 
class. Accidents, misfortunes, calamities, insanity, and epidem- 
ics were ascribed to their agency. 

There are no means for ascertaining how long the aborigines 
of India continued in this state, but probably such was their 
character for some centuries. Indeed, such is still the state and 
character of several tribes in different parts of the country, while 
in some districts the religion of the people is evidently a mix- 
ture of their primitive superstitions and the system commonly 
called Brahminism or Hinduism. 



ORIGIN OF THE HINDUS AND HINDUISM. 

It is now generally agreed among orientalists that the people, 
who are now commonly called the Hindus, were an invading 
and conquering nation, who came from the north-west into 
India. Sir WiUiam Jones was of the opinion that they came 
from Iran. Adelung was of the same opinion. Klaproth 
believed they came from the Caucasian Mountains. Schlegel 
ascribes their origin to some place on the border of the Caspian 
Sea, and Kennedy is of the opinion that the Brahmins first 
formed a community on the plains of the Euphrates. They 
brought with them the Hindu religion and the distinctions of 
caste. Or more probably they then instituted these distinctions 
by dividing themselves into the three higher castes, namely, the 
Brahmins to be the hereditary priesthood, the Kshatryas to be 
the military caste, and the merchants, traders, etc., who accom- 
panied them to constitute the Vaishyas, while they included the 
lower people who accompanied them and the inhabitants of the 
country, in the Shudra caste. The distinctions of caste with 
the rights and privileges which the three highest shared in com- 
mon among them, the degraded state of the whole Shudra 
caste, and the determination to keep them in the degraded state 
described in the Institutes of Menu, clearly indicate what par- 
ties were the conquerors and intended to rule, and what parties 
were the conquered and were to be ruled. 

It is the general opinion of orientalists that the Vedas were 
compiled and put into then- present form in the 14th century 
before the Chi-istian era, and that this compilation was com- 



24 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

posed of notions, rites, etc., in previous use among them. 
According to this opinion the invasion of India by the nation 
or tribes who introduced the present system of Hinduism, took 
place as early as the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. This 
invading and conquering nation had a much higher character 
of civilization than the inhabitants they found in India. They 
became settled on the banks of the Ganges and Jumna, and 
there they matured their civil and religious poKty. According 
to the Institutes of Menu, supposed to be written 10 or 12 cen- 
turies before the Christian era, the three higher castes were to 
be invested with the sacred thread, and thence they are called 
the " twice born ; " they were also to read the Vedas, and per- 
form sacrifices. So these three castes must then have under- 
stood the Sanscrit language. Probably Sanscrit of the style of 
the Vedas was then the vernacular language of the conquerors. 
The first, or original inhabitants of the country, inferior in civili- 
zation, with no hereditary priesthood and no sacred books or 
clearly defined religious system, presented but a feeble barrier 
against a religious system thus introduced and supported. Still 
the progress of Hinduism in some parts of India was slow. 
The Deckan and the country south from it long continued to 
follow their original superstitions, and even now the knowledge 
and influence of Brahminism over the great body of the people 
in the southern parts of the peninsula is smaU when compared 
with what it is in the central and northern provinces. 

The Hindu system of religion and government became first 
established in the central and northern parts of India, and for 
some centuries the chief seat of their power and influence was 
in those places. The actions and events described in their 
Purans chiefly took place there, and there most of these books 
were written. In the Pm-ans and early poems two races of 
kings are described, called the Uace of the Sun and the Race 
of the Moon, or the Solar and the Lunar race. The Solar race 
reigned in Ayodhya, the modern Oude ; and the Lunar race in 
Pruyag, the modern Allahabad. These two capitals were near 
together, and the families were closely aUied in their origin and 
by intermarriages. The names of the kings of these pretended 
dynasties are aU that is known of most of them. Indeed, even 
these names are perhaps as really fictitious as the dm'ation of 



HISTORY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 25 

their reigns, which in some cases are said to have exceeded 
10,000 years. Fifty-seven kings of the Solar race are said to 
have reigned in Ayodhya previous to Eama or Ramchundra, 
who appears to have been a real personage, and who probably 
lived in the 12th or 13th century before the Christian era. This 
king was the most celebrated sovereign in the ancient history of 
India, and he is reckoned one of the incarnations of Vishnu. 
But there is no credible history of his reign. All is mixed with 
fictions and fables. His life and reign have been a fruitful sub- 
ject for the poets, but the most celebrated work is an epic poem 
by Valmeeki, called the Ramayana. In early life Rama, whose 
father Dushuruth was king of Ayodhya, became the son-in-law 
of the king of Mithili, another branch of the Solar race. Fam- 
ily troubles soon followed his marriage, and he was compelled 
to retire with Seeta his wife into the forests. WhUe there, 
Rawun, the Idng of Singul-Dwip, or Ceylon, then on a visit or 
expedition to the north part of India, carried off Seeta. Rama 
collected a large army, made an expedition into Ceylon, and 
recovered his wife. From various notices in this poem, the 
country on the Ganges appears to have been at that time in a 
much higher state of civilization than the Deckan and the other 
countries through which Rama passed in his expedition to 
Ceylon. 

The next work that throws any light upon the dark field of 
Lidian history is the Mahabharat, written probably about a cen- 
tury after the Ramayana. This work is also an epic poem, cel- 
brating the wars which took place among the princes of the 
Lunar race. In the wars as well as the causes and circum- 
stances connected with them, Krishna, one of the reputed incar- 
nations of Vishnu, was a distinguished if not the most 
prominent actor. The Lunar race had at this time become 
divided into many different branches in the principal cities in the 
central and northern parts of India, who appear to have been 
more frequently in a state of war than of peace with each other. 
After a long series of complicated intrigues and family and per- 
sonal quarrels, the parties rallied all their strength for a general 
conflict. Fifty.-six royal tribes were then assembled on the field 
of Kuru. The battle continued (so the poets say) for 18 days 
and with prodigious slaughter on both sides before the contest 

3 



26 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

was decided. It appears from this poem that India was then 
divided into a large number of smaU separate governments, 
which were often engaged m wars with each other, and now 
and then uniting for more general wars, as in the great war here 
celebrated. 

The Hindus are fond of the marvellous, and are so credulous 
that they readily assent to almost any thing that took place long 
ago, or in some distant part of the world. Under the influence 
of such feelings the fictions of poetry in the course of time 
began to be considered as the facts of history. And as the 
exploits ascribed to Krishna exceeded mere human power, the 
difficulty was removed by placing him among the incarnations 
of Vishnu. There was much in his conduct at different times, 
which was pleasing to the taste and habits of the Hindus gen- 
erally ; and thus deified, Krishna soon became one of the favor- 
ite gods, and few if any of the Hindu deities have been more 
worshipped. 

Buluram, or Buludeva, sometimes described as one of the 
brothers of Krishna, was one of the same age, and his exploits 
are celebrated in the Mahabharat. He is said to have founded a 
city called Pafibothra, probably the modern Patna, which became 
one of the most magnificent cities in India. The foundation 
of two or three other cities is also ascribed to Buluram. He 
also was deified, and he is often reckoned among the incarna- 
tions of Vishnu. 

It has been already stated that the first inhabitants of India 
entered the country from the west or north-west, and at some 
subsequent period another nation from the same source in- 
vaded and conquered them, introducing a higher state of civil- 
ization with the system of religion called Hinduism or Brahmin- 
ism, and which still continues to be the religion of the great body 
of the people. There are traditions and fragmentary records 
of other invasions from the same som-ce in remote antiquity. But 
the earliest invasion of which we have any authentic history, 
was made by Darius when he was king of Persia. This cele- 
brated monarch became king of Persia 518 years before Christ. 
He extended his power from the Mediterranean Sea to the river 
Indus, and not satisfied, with this magnificent empire, he re- 
solved to extend his authority over India. With this view he 



HISTORY — THE HIXDU PERIOD. 27 

directed admiral Scylax to construct a flotilla of boats in the 
Punjab, and descending the river to explore the country to the 
sea. These orders the admiral executed, and he gave such a 
glowing account of the beauty of the country and the wealth of 
the inhabitants, on the Indus, that Darius resolved to add it to 
his dominions. He invaded India with a large force, defeated 
and dispersed the armies sent against him, and extended his 
authority over the provinces on the Indus. There are no means 
of ascertaining how far he conquered the country, but the con- 
quest must have been extensive, as it yielded the largest 
revenue of any Satrapy of the Persian empire. Indeed, it is 
said, that in some years one third of the revenue came from 
India, and that while the Persian provinces paid their revenues 
in silver, the Indian provinces paid theirs in gold. We are 
indebted for this information to the Grecian historians, who 
obtained their knowledge from the Persians, who had seen 
India, and who told them that the people of the country who 
lived beyond the Persian conquests, " were of black complexion, 
that they did not kill animals for food, but lived upon rice, 
grain, and fruits, that they exposed to death those who were so 
sick that they were not expected to recover, that their horses 
were of a small breed, and that the people manufactured the 
cotton of the country into fine clothing." The nations thus 
referred to were doubtless those living in the great valley of the 
Ganges, and this description shows that the inhabitants of 
India 2,300 years ago, much resemble their descendants of the 
present day. 

Gaudama, the author of Budhism in its present form, and so 
much revered by aU who profess that system, was born in India 
about the time of the Persian invasion. But his life and sys- 
tem properly belong to the religious history of India, to be 
considered hereafter. 



Alexander's invasion. 

The next great event in the political history of the country 
was its invasion by Alexander the Great, about tv*^o centm-ies 
after the invasion of Darius. Of the state of the provinces 
which Darius had annexed to his own dominions during this 



28 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

period we have no particular information. But from the state 
in which Alexander found them, it appears that in the reigns of 
the later Persian monarchs, the provinces on the Indus, or at 
least ail to the east of the Indus, had recovered their inde- 
pendence. Alexander having subverted the Persian empire, 
directed his course towards India. Some say his object was to 
take possession of the eastern provinces of the Persian empire, 
which had assumed then- independence. But it is more proba- 
ble that his object was to extend his dominions by the conquest 
of India, of whose power and riches he had heard such marvel- 
lous accounts from the Persians. Having obtained possession 
. of Cabul and there rested awhile, he proceeded towards India, 
requiring and when refused enforcing the submission of all the 
chiefs and people along his march. He reached the Indus near 
Attock, and crossed the river on a bridge of boats. He found 
India divided into separate and independent kingdoms. Two 
princes, Arbissares and Taxiles submitted to Alexander without 
making any resistance, and friendly relations were formed 
between them. He then proceeded to Hydaspes, now called 
Jylum, one of the rivers of the Punjab. The rainy season had 
commenced and the river w^as much swoUen. Porus, king of 
the country, was on the opposite bank of the river, to oppose 
his passage. The Indian army was arranged with much skiU ; 
a long range of elephants, used to war, was placed along the 
shore in front of the army. As often as Alexander made 
arrangements to cross the river, he saw corresponding arrange- 
ments made by his enemy to resist him. He saw it was neces- 
sary to devise some new way, and to elude the observation of 
his vigilant enemy. He had obtained information that the river 
could be more easUy passed at an island, some miles above, 
and taking 11,000 veterans he left his camp in a dark and 
stormy night, and proceeding to the island, they crossed the 
river before morning. As Alexander's camp presented the usual 
appearance in the morning, Porus was not aware of what had 
been done, till informed that some of the Greeks had crossed 
the river, and were approaching him. Supposing it must be 
some smaU detachment, he despatched his son against it. But 
his son was defeated and slain. Porus then learned with sur- 
prise that Alexander had himself passed the river with a large 



HISTOEY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 29 

body of his army. He at once proceeded against him with 
30,000 foot, 4,000 horse, and many chariots and elephants. 
The battle continued for several hours. Alexander's army 
consisting, as aheady stated, of 11,000 men, was very inferior 
in numbers, but their cool courage, their skill in using their 
weapons, and their impetuosity in attack made them irresist- 
ible. The Indian army gave way before them, and flight soon 
became general. But Porus mounted on the largest elephant, 
and surrounded by a few chosen troops, continued the battle, 
apparently determined to die fighting. Alexander admiring his 
gallantry and anxious to save his Kfe, sent messengers to 
beseech him to surrender on honorable terms. To this arrange- 
ment he at length consented. When conducted into the pres- 
ence of the emperor, and asked how he wished to be treated, he 
rephed with a noble dignity, " As a king." Alexander was so 
much pleased with his manners and conduct in such trying cir- 
cumstances that he gave him his liberty and established or con- 
firmed him in his kingdom. Porus showed that he could 
appreciate such conduct in Alexander, and continued to be his 
ally and friend. 

Having made an amicable arrangement with Porus, Alexan- 
der proceeded through a rich and populous country to the 
Hyphasis, now called the Sutlege. The natives of India must 
by this time have become aware of the nature and object of 
his invasion, and of the valor and general character of his army. 
Such an victorious army already within the borders of their 
country must have produced great excitement, if not consterna- 
tion throughout all the nations and tribes of northern India. 
This state of the country and the accounts concerning the 
power, resources, and riches of its kings,* were weU calculated 
to raise the ambition of Alexander to the highest pitch. He 

* Such as the following, " Here he heard of the kingdom of Magadi on the 
Ganges, the mighty sovereign of which could bring 600,000 foot into the field 
with 300,000 horse and 9,000 elephants. He heard of the splendor of its capital, 
Palibothra, nine miles long, and his ambition was kindled to plant his standard 
on its ramparts." 

No city of the name of PaUbothra is now known in India. Some orientalists 
believe it stood where Allahabad now is ; others assign its location to Patna, and 
others again to Rajamahl. It appears probable that Patna is a contraction of 
the ancient Palibothra under its modern name. 

3* 



30 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

was at this time just 30 years of age, and by inheritance or con- 
quest had obtained possession of all parts of the world then 
known, and previously supposed to be worth conquering and 
governing. He was at the head of such an army as no monarch 
ever before had under his command — an army trained first by 
his father and then by himself, an army superior to any they had 
ever encountered, everywhere accustomed to victory, and every 
one of them able in the day of battle to take the command of 
the whole. He had now opening before him a dazzling career 
into parts of the world hitherto very imperfectly known, but of 
which marvellous accounts were current through the western 
world. 

But Alexander's army generally did not share in these feel- 
ings. Many of them were becoming advanced in age and 
wished to exchange the active labors of war for a quiet life. 
They had been long absent from their own country and desired 
to return home. Their labors had been hard and their sufferings 
had been great. They had accomplished all the objects for 
which they at first engaged in the war. They saw no reason or 
propriety in pursuing an apparently interminable career of con- 
quest in unknown parts of the world merely for the further 
glory of their leader, who had akeady acquired more renown 
than any man ever had before him. And fm-ther, they saw that 
they would have to endure a climate more severe, enervating 
and sickly than they had ever known. These things were well 
calculated to make the army hitherto invincible refuse to proceed 
any further. Alexander commanded, he entreated, he threat- 
ened, and he wept, but all was in vain. The army continued 
inflexible. He was compelled to yield and to limit his conquest 
and his dominions to the Indus. Unable to proceed any further 
into India, he resolved to make somewhat fm-ther examination 
of the country that was now in his power. He caused a flotilla 
of boats, one account says 2,000, to be prepared. When aU 
were ready, solemn sacrifices were offered according to the 
Grecian and to the Indian rites. A part of the army embarked 
in the boats, and the rest made arrangements to proceed along 
the banks of the river. And then with great shoutings and 
rejoicings they commenced their return homewards. Their pro- 
gress down the Indus was delayed by wars with some of the 



HISTORY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 31 

tribes on the banks, and they were nine months in reaching the 
sea. On arriving at the mouth of the river, Nearchus with a 
part of the fleet proceeded to the Persian Gulf, while Alexander 
proceeded with the army to Persia. 

It was Alexander's intention to return to India, but his death 
which occurred in less than two or three years, put an end to aU 
his plans. From the v/orks of the Greek authors who accom- 
panied him, we may learn much concerning the state of the 
country and manners of the people at that time. The people 
were divided into classes or castes, among whom the Brahmins, 
called by some of the Greeks, gymnosophists and philosophers, 
especially excited the curiosity and attention of Alexander and 
the learned men who accompanied him. In this account of 
India it is said that the people burned their dead, and that 
women sometimes voluntarily burned themselves with the 
bodies of their deceased husbands. Marriages were restricted 
to those of the same class, and often took place as early as 7 or 
8 years of age. Indeed, the customs, manners, employments, 
etc., of the people of India 2,000 years ago, appear to have con- 
tinued with little change till the present time. 



STATE OP INDIA FROM THE INVASION OF ALEXANDER TO THE 
MOHAMMEDAN CONQUEST. 

Alexander founded no colony in India and made no perma- 
nent changes in the government or institutions of the country. 
In the divisions and changes in the empire consequent upon his 
decease, Seleucus, one of his ablest generals, obtained the east- 
ern part of his dominions, and established what has been called 
the Bactrian and Greco-Bactrian kingdom, tie claimed those 
provinces which Alexander had conquered on the Indus, and 
resolved to carry into effect the scheme of conquest which his 
master so much desu-ed. The history of the Bactrian kingdom 
is very obscure, but it appears that Seleucus invaded India and 
had somewhere a conflict with the army of Chandragupta, 
king of Magadi, called by the Greek historians Sandracottus, 
and described as sovereign of the greater part of central and 
northern Lidia. The Greek historians say that Seleucus was 
victorious, but the result of the invasion does not show such 



32 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

success as he anticipated, for a treaty of peace was concluded, 
by which he relinquished all claim to any possession east of the 
Indus. A marriage connection was formed between the two 
royal families, and Seleucus appointed Magasthenes to reside as 
his minister at Pahbothra. The Bactrian kingdom under a 
succession of Greek sovereigns continued for several reigns. 
From some fragments of Grecian and Indian history, and from 
numerous ancient ruins, it appears that there were three differ- 
ent dynasties of Bactrian kings, who had much intercourse with 
the princes of northern India. It appears that sometimes their 
dominions included provinces east of the Indus, and perhaps 
one of them for a while made his capital in some of these prov- 
inces. It appears not unlikely that the Purans refer to this king- 
dom when they say that eight Yuwun Idngs once reigned in 
some of the northern parts of India. Yuwuns is believed to be 
a corruption of lonians, the name given to the Greeks by the 
people of India. 

The Magadi sovereigns appear at this time to have been the 
most powerful in India. Of these Chandragupta was the most 
celebrated. He died about 300 years before the Christian era, 
and was succeeded by his son Mitragupta, and this kingdom 
under different dynasties continued tiU about a. d. 450, or for 
more than eight centuries. At one time, either as compensa- 
tion for territory relinquished, or to purchase exemption from 
invasion, these sovereigns paid to the Bactrian monarchs annu- 
ally, " a tribute of 50 elephants and a considerable sum of 
money." The state of India is described as prosperous and 
happy under the Magadi dynasty. Commerce, the arts, litera- 
tm-e, and husbandry, all flourished. A royal road is said to 
have extended from the capital Pahbothra to the Indus, and 
another to Broach in Gujerat. These sovereigns patronized 
learned men and supported a briUiant court. It appears to have 
been in this reign that the Sanscrit language attained its highest 
state of polish and refinement. 

The rehgion professed by the last sovereigns of the Magadi 
kingdom was Budhism. The long continued controversy 
between those professing the Brahminical system, or common 
Plinduism, and those professing Budhism appears at this time 
to have come to a crisis, and probably the religious wars which 



HISTORY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 33 

terminated in the expulsion of the Budhists from India, were 
connected with the subversion of this Idngdom. There is no 
connected and authentic history of these events, but only scat- 
tered fragments and poetic allusions to them in the Purans, and 
notices of them in inscriptions, ruins, etc. Some of the large 
cave-temples were made in these dynasties. 

Thus the religion of India previous to the Mohammedans' 
establishing their power in the country, was of three kinds, 
namely : — 

1. The reKgion of the first inhabitants which consisted in the 
worship of numerous local deities, many of them supposed 
to be the spirits of deceased men. Some of these were beheved 
to be benevolent and to delight in the happiness of mankind, 
but they were oftener beheved to be malevolent, and their prin- 
cipal interference in human affairs was to inflict misery of some 
kind. Hence the general sentiment towards them was fear, and 
the principal worship consisted in sacrifices, offerings, rites, and 
ceremonies to pacify them and induce them to let mankind 
alone — not to injure or trouble them. The votaries of this 
horrid superstition have no affection for the beings they worship, 
they only fear and dread them. They expect no favors or good 
fi'om them. They only fear evil, as though they interfere in 
human affairs only to do evil. Sometimes they wiU torture 
themselves or inflict pain upon one another in the belief that 
their supposed deities are pleased with such sufferings. A 
rehgion with such supposed deities for its objects of worship 
contains material and will furnish occasion for every kind and 
degree of cruelty and wickedness, which the depraved and 
guilty heart of man can conceive, or which human nature can 
endure. And this rehgion with its dreaded divinities, its sacri- 
fices of food and animals, its offerings of various kinds of food 
and spirituous hquors, its horrid cruelties and its self-inflicted 
tortures, continues still in some districts and among some tribes, 
who are reckoned to belong to the lower castes. 

2. The next form of religion in India was Brahminism, or the 
religion of the Vedas and Purans, and commonly called Hindu- 
ism. The system was probably introduced 12 or 14 centuries 
before the Christian era, and became established and matm-ed 
in the districts which compose the vaUey of the Ganges. From 



34 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

these provinces, its first seat in India, it spread by degrees, in- 
corporating in its progress in different directions many of the 
local deities with their legends, rites, etc., till it became the 
religion of the most populous and civilized parts of the country. 
This system, though varying much in different places, as might 
be expected from its many and conflicting sacred books, its 
almost innumerable deities, and its rites and ceremonies more 
than one man could ever learn or have time to perform, con- 
tinues to be the religion of the great body of the people to the 
present time. 

3. Budhism was the next form of religion. This appears to 
have been at first a schism in the brahminical system. There 
is much obscurity about its origin, but so far as can be ascer- 
tained, it appears to have originated in attempts to reform some 
pretended abuses in the prevailing religion, but it soon became 
a rival system. It appears certain that Budhism was awhile the 
established religion of several dynasties in central and northern 
India, and many monuments of it remain in the peninsula. Of 
the contests and controversies between Budhism and Brahmin- 
ism, and by what means the former was expelled from nearly all 
India, we have Kttle authentic information. It is still the 
religion of Nepaul and the south part of Ceylon, and it is the 
prevailing religion of the countries east from India, as Burma, 
Siam, and China. Its temples in India, now generally in ruins, 
or appropriated to the system which triumphed over it and 
expelled it from the country, show that its power was once 
great and had a strong hold on the feelings of its votaries. 

From the compilation of the Code of Menu to the Mohamme- 
dan invasion was 2,000 years, so there was ample time for 
all the changes which the allusions and fragments of history 
and the fables of mjrthology suggest. The system of the Vedas 
and Purans (of which the Institutes of Menu form a part,) be- 
came early established in the valley of the Ganges, and there 
obtained its greatest development. We may suppose that this 
Code shows the state of civilization for a very considerable 
period in those provinces, while in the other parts of India the 
inhabitants were in every stage of civilization up to a state of 
barbarism. The religion and civilization which had thus 
become established in the central parts of India, supported and 



HISTORY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 35 

enforced as they were by a learned hierarchy and a military 
class, was gradually extended in different directions tOl they in- 
cluded nearly all India, especially the parts which were most 
fertile and populous. 

The Hindu governments have always been despotic, and are 
described as having power to manage the affans of the State as 
they pleased. The sacred character and supposed spiritual 
power of the brahmins must always have been a restraint upon 
the exercise of arbitrary power. The distinctions of caste also 
must have caused a peculiar kind of civilization, and it is re- 
markable that some of the ancient rajas and princes belonged to 
the general division or caste called Shudras. Such facts show 
that the Institutes of Menu, which assign all honor and power 
to the higher castes and only servitude and degradation to the 
Shudras, were not the laws of aU India. Indeed, these are some 
of the indications which show that this celebrated Code was 
the work of men, who wrote it to show the form of government 
and society which they preferred and wished to be adopted and 
followed, and not a body or system of laws and usages actually 
in force. These Shudra princes or their families probably 
acquired their power before they embraced the religion of the 
Vedas and Purans. This extension of Hinduism increased the 
number of castes, and contributed to the confusion which now 
exists. The people of a new province or kingdom were formed 
more or less into distinct castes, but did not amalgamate or 
unite with those of other districts. 

The state of civilization in India previous to the Mohamme- 
dan invasion, though very unequal in the different kingdoms into 
which the country was divided, was yet such as clearly to place 
the inhabitants among civilized nations. This is evident from 
the character of the Sanscrit language and many works in its 
literature. Among these works none have excited more atten- 
tion and none deserve more consideration than the Institutes of 
Menu. This work has been generally supposed to have been 
written as early as the 9th or 10th century before the Chiistian 
era, and it contains a code of religious, civil, and criminal laws, 
all claiming to be of divine authority, and so regarded by the 
orthodox Hindus. The great object of these laws appears to 



36 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

be to exalt the brahminical caste, and they contain evidence of 
having been compiled by men of this caste and with an un- 
scrupulous view to their own interest. Some have supposed 
that this Code was once the universal law of India. But there 
is not sufficient reason for believing this opinion. It is more 
reasonable to suppose that the compilers arranged these laws so 
as to show what in their opinion ought to be, or what they 
wished to be observed, than what had been or were being ob- 
served. Still this Code, if not at its origin, yet at an early 
period in its history, was received as of divine authority, and so 
exerted much influence among the people. But it was probably 
with this Code as it was with the Jewish laws of old, and as it 
has been in modern times with the doctrines of Mohammedan- 
ism and Christianity, that many who Uve in countries where 
these systems prevail, pay little or no regard to them ; while 
many others who profess to believe them, yield obedience no 
farther than is convenient and agreeable. 

Among the celebrated names in Indian mythology and his- 
tory is Vikram and Vikramditya, and these names are applied 
at pleasure to the same individual. Several monarchs of this 
name are mentioned, but the one who established the com- 
mencement of his reign, as an era which still continues in use 
in central India, has been chiefly celebrated. He commenced 
his reign in Oujein, then called Awanti, 56 years before the 
Christian era. He was renowned for his virtues in peace and 
for his prowess in war. He encouraged learning and supported 
many learned men at his court, among whom was the celebrated 
poet Kalidas. Those who enjoyed the patronage of the mon- 
arch, celebrated his piety, hberality, and bravery in a manner 
which shows that if some actions and quahties ascribed to him 
were facts, yet much of what they said must be fiction. He is 
said himself to have worshipped the infinite and invisible God, 
but at the same time to have erected temples and endowed 
shrines of the deities which were generally Avorshipped by his 
subjects. This may have been all true concerning him, or it 
may have been said merely to praise him ; as though his knowl- 
edge was so great and his mind so enlightened that he could 
worship without the use of any images, rites, etc., while yet he 



HISTORY — THE HINDU PERIOD. 37 

was SO kind and liberal as to provide such aids for the use of 
those to whom for want of knowledge or mental capacity they 
were necessary. 

In the Deckan a king by the name of Shalewahan reigned at 
P3rtan on the Godavery, in the first century of the Christian era. 
The popular literature and tradition contain some marvellous 
and fabulous stories about his birth and early life. He made 
war upon Vikram and compelled him to withdraw from the 
Deckan. They then came to a mutual understanding that Vik- 
ram should reign over all the country lying north of the Ner- 
budda and that his era should be there used, and that Shalewa- 
han should reign over all the country south of that river and 
that his era should there be used. These eras continue to be 
used according to this supposed agreement up to the present time. 

It has been already remarked, that at the time of the Moham- 
medan invasion and at every previous period when we can get 
a view of the state of India, we see it divided into a number of 
separate and independent kingdoms. Thus in the extreme 
southern parts of the peninsula we see the kingdom of Pandion 
with Madura for its capital and using the Tamul language ; 
then next to it, the kingdom of Carnata with Vejyanuggur for 
its capital and using the Carnarese language ; then the kingdom 
of Telingana with Warangole for its capital and using the 
Telugu language ; then north-east, the kingdom of Orissa with 
Cuttac for its capital and using the Oriya language ; then in 
the Deckan, the kingdom of Marashtra with Pytan and the 
Deoghur for its capital and using the Mahratta language ; 
then to the north-west, the kingdom of Gujerat with Anhalwara 
for its capital and using the Gujeratee language. In this way 
we might proceed aU over India. Awanti (now Oujein) in 
Malwa, Gouri in Bengal, Pahbothra, Magadi, Ayodhya (now 
Oude), Mithili, and Delhi, in the great valley of the Ganges 
were the' ancient capitals of kingdoms. Sometimes one of 
these kingdoms was divided into two or three governments for 
awhile, and would then be united again. These kingdoms 
could generally show long genealogies of kings, often terminating 
to fables and mythology. The vu-tues and victories of their 
kings were chronicled in legends, celebrated in poetry, and 
sung in ballads, but they had no properly connected and arranged 

4 



38 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

records of public events or authentic history of their kings or 
their kingdoms. It appears to be unnecessary, in view of the 
present state of India and the object of this work, to try to 
gather up or to arrange any further facts or opinions concerning 
these obscure kingdoms, whose political existence ceased some 
centuries ago, and which do not appear likely again ever to 
recover any political importance or any national existence. 
Some account of the sacred books of the Hindus, their deities, 
their literature, their religious rites and ceremonies, their customs, 
manners, etc., will be given in another part of this work. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE MOHAMMEDAN PEEIOD. 

For many centuries previous to the origin of the Moham- 
medan religion the inhabitants of Arabia and the southern 
parts of Persia had carried on a large trade with the western 
coast of India, and when the inhabitants of these countries 
embraced the Mohammedan religion and became imbued with 
its spirit, they would naturally endeavor to propagate it in those 
parts of India with which they were best acquainted, and had 
most intercourse. And so it was. In the time of the early 
Caliphs, expeditions were sent from Arabia and Persia to the 
western coast of India to propagate the new faith. The 
accounts of these are meagre, consisting of traditions gathered 
up by Mohammedan historians long afterwards. In the time of 
the Caliph Waleed, the governor of Bussora dispatched an 
army of 6,000 men to India under the command of Moham- 
m.ed Causim. This army was weU prepared with means for 
aggressive war, and the commander was determined to retain 
possession of the countries he might conquer, and to convert 
their inhabitants to the true faith. This army made its first 
descent at Dewal a seaport in Scinde, belonging to a Hindu 
prince, called by Moharrimedan historians, Raja Dahir. Causim 
commenced his warfare by beseiging a large, fortified temple 
near the city. Being informed that a large flag flying at the 



HISTORY THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 39 

top of the temple was regarded as its palladiuin by the super- 
stitious inmates, Causim directed his engines to it and soon 
brought it down. The people seeing the flag fall were panic- 
struck, and soon suiTendered. Causim issued orders that all 
the males should be circumcised, but on account of the resist- 
ance of the brahmins, or for some other reason, he became so 
much exasperated -^lat he caused all the males over 17 years 
old to be put to death, and all under that age, as well as the 
women and children to be reduced to slavery. 

Causim next attacked the town, which was soon taken, and 
much booty was obtained in it. One fifth part of the booty 
w^as reserved for the governor of Bussora or the Caliph, accord' 
ing to early Mohammedan usage, and the rest was divided 
among the captors. The submission of the country around 
Dewal soon foUowed, and Causim proceeded up the Indus to 
Schwan and other places, of which he took possession. This 
invasion from a foreign country, and the barbarous manner of 
forcing the inhabitants to embrace a new faith, aroused the 
native powers and the spirit of the people, and Causim found 
his fmrther progress opposed by a large army under the Raja. 
Having been reinforced by 2,000 cavalry from Persia, and ani- 
mated by that enthusiasm which so powerfully influenced the 
early Mohammedan conquerors, Causim resolved to maintain 
his ground, though attacked by an army of 50,000 men. The 
attack was commenced by the Raja, who in the style of that 
age in India, was mounted on a war-elephant. A fije-baU, 
thrown from the engines having struck the animal, he was so 
much frightened that he ran from the battle field, and plunged 
into the river. The army, supposing that the Raja had been 
kUled, became dismayed and soon gave way on every side. 
And though the Raja returned to the field, yet he could not 
rally his flying troops. But he showed his own courage by 
continuing the battle till he fell among the slain. 

This battle took place near Allore, the ancient capital of 
Scinde. The Raja's widow, or the widow of one of his sons, 
then in the city, furnished an instance of the courage and des- 
peration which sometimes occur in the ancient history of India. 
" She collected the remains of the scattered army, put the city 
into a posture of defence, and maintained it against the attacks 



40 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of the enemy until the failure of provisions rendered it impos- 
sible to hold out any longer. In this extremity her resolution 
did not desert her, and the garrison inflamed by her example 
determined to devote themselves along with her, after the man- 
ner of her tribe. The women and children were first sacrificed 
in flames of their own kindling ; the men performed their ablu- 
tions, and then with solemn ceremonies took leave of each 
other and of the world ; the gates were then thrown open, the 
men rushed out, sword in hand, and encountering their enemies, 
all perished to a man." 

If this tragic scene exhibits the character and spuit of the 
Hindus, the following shows the savage barbarity of the Mo- 
hammedans : " Those of the garrison who did not share in this 
act of desperation, gained little by their prudence ; the city was 
carried by assault ; aU the men in arms were slaughtered in the 
storm, and their families were reduced to bondage." 

Causim continued the war till the dominions of Raja Dahir 
had submitted to his authority. These dominions included the 
country each side of the Lidus, from its mouth to Multan, 
which is mentioned as one of the cities he conquered. This 
territory then included aU Scinde and the southern part of the 
Punjab. These conquests were made in the spirit of the Mo- 
hammedan refigion at that early period of its history. When 
the army approached any city, the inhabitants were summoned 
to embrace the Mohammedan faith, or to submit to such tribute 
as might be imposed upon them. If they refused such terms, 
the city was attacked, and if it did not capitulate upon some 
stipulated conditions, when taken, aU the fighting men were 
killed and their families reduced to slavery. "When cities 
resisted to the last extremity, the slaughter was often very 
great, and the misery of families was extreme. Traders, me- 
chanics, etc., if they continued quiet, were not oppressed or 
injured beyond paying the tribute exacted, and enduring such 
evils as originated in the seige or storming of the city. When 
tribute was agreed to, either on the part of the prince or the 
people, they were allowed to live, so long as they paid the 
tribute, according to their own religion, and to such laws and 
usages as were conceded to them. The Mohammedans who 
invaded India, appear soon to have lost something of the stern 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 41 

arid fanatical spirit which animated the first Mohammedan 
conquerors of Egypt, Syria, and Persia. Causim made treaties 
with several Hindu princes, and employed natives of the coun- 
try in high situations under his government. He formed plans 
for greatly extending his conquests, and was preparing to carry 
them into effect when sudden reverses came upon him, and he 
was deprived of the command of the army. Mohammedan 
historians say he was put to death by the orders of the Caliph, 
upon some groundless charges made against him. Temin his 
successor had not the ability and enterprise required to lead the 
army to further conquests. The Mohammedan doctrines, and 
especially the rite of circumcision, were exceedingly odious to 
the Hindus, and they defended their religion and their country 
with great obstinacy. The Mohammedan army, in the course 
of a few years, became much reduced, and the Hindus uniting 
in a general insurrection expelled the invaders from India, and 
the country continued for several generations in their undis- 
turbed possession. 

The failure of the Mohammedans to extend their conquests 
and even to retain what they had acquired in India, so different 
from their progress and success at that time in other countries, 
arose from the state of India and the peculiar character and 
institutions of the Hindus. The country was subject to many 
independent princes, who must all be conquered in succession, 
and could only be subdued by carrying war into the successive 
territory of each one separately. The Hindu religion has so 
little connection with the state that the conquest of the country 
and the expulsion or extinction of dynasties would have but 
little direct influence upon the rehgion of the people. Their 
religion depends upon their hereditary priesthood and their 
sacred books and places, and this priesthood has nothing Hlce a 
hierarchy, has no authoritative spiritual head. Again, the divis- 
ion of the people into different castes presents a great barrier to 
social intercourse and religious sympathy, and yet those of the 
same caste are more closely united together than any society or 
community which has ever existed in any other social state or 
religious system. These were obstacles to the progress of the 
Mohammedan religion, which it had never encountered in any 
other country. Further, the invasion was made from Persia, 

4* 



42 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



where the people had not the stern fanatical zeal for religion 
which distinguished the early proselytes and immediate succes- 
sors of Mohammed, as they went from Arabia to spread their 
faith and reform the world. And as this zeal for the simple 
faith of their creed and thejr admiration of the austere manners 
of the prophet diminished, they gradually acquired a love of 
wealth, luxury, and splendor. They were glad to exchange the 
simple tent for the splendid palace, and the plain dress which 
their prophet wore for the gorgeous robes of courtiers and mon- 
archs. And in order to attain these things they became wilhng 
to make treaties of aUiance with idolaters, and the consequence 
of this course was that they were themselves expelled from the 
country. 

The next Mohammedan invasion of India was from a 
different dhection and was of a more permanent character. 
Persia was one of the first countries which the Moham^medans 
invaded and conquered. The inhabitants generally embraced 
the faith of the conquerors more from compulsion than from 
conviction of its truth, for in a few years they attempted to ex- 
pel their conquerors and to reestabhsh their former religion. 
Such people are not liltely to have much zeal for spreading their 
new faith, and Mohammedanism made its way very slowly in 
the countries between Persia and India. In the year 977 of the 
Christian era, Subuctagee became the governor of the province 
of Candahar. He had a high character for military talents, and 
the army having selected him as then sovereign he assumed 
independence. He selected Ghizni for his capital and laid the 
foundation for one of the most powerful kingdoms then in the 
world. The Hindus, who had painful experience of the aggres- 
sive and intolerant spirit of the Mohammedans, looked with 
great anxiety upon this kingdom now established near their bor- 
der, and several excursions of Afghans into then territories soon 
convinced them that their fears were not without reason. Pro- 
voked by these attacks, Jypal, Raja of Lahore, collected a large 
army and proceeded towards Ghizni either to invade Afghanis- 
tan, or to repel an expected invasion. As he and Subuctagee 
were preparing to engage in battle, a great tempest arose, which 
either from its violence or some circumstances connected mth 
it, frightened and disheartened the Hindus so much that Jypal 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 43 

solicited peace, which he at length obtained by paying a large 
sum of money and. surrendering 50 of his elephants. This 
treaty in some of its conditions, it is said he afterwards refused 
to fulfil, and also treated the ambassadors of Subuctagee with 
great insolence. 

Such conduct greatly exasperated the Afghan sovereign, and 
assembhng a large army he began his march towards India, 
while Jypal, who aware what the effect of his conduct would be, 
had formed an alliance with several princes in the northern parts 
of India, prepared to defend his territory. The Mohammedan 
historians, to whom we are chiefly indebted for information on 
the Mohammedan conquest of India, say that Jypal's army con- 
tained 100,000 cavahy and an almost incredible number of foot- 
soldiers. But such great numbers add little to the strength or 
efficiency of a half-discipKned army. They" can seldom aU be 
arranged so as to engage in battle. The disciplined force in 
whatever direction it moves, compels aU to give way before 
it, and when disorder and confusion once commence, the 
greater the army the greater the carnage and slaughter. The 
fierce and warlike tribes of Afghanistan have seldom had reason 
to feel much respect for the armies of India, and they have often 
had reason to hold them in contempt. Subuctagee commenced 
the attack by a succession of charges by his best cavalry upon 
the centre of the Indian army, and as soon as he saw this part 
in disorder and giving way, he ordered an attack to be made 
upon their whole line. The Hindus soon gave way; a total 
rout ensued, and the fugitives were pursued with great carnage 
to the Indus. Subuctagee obtained great booty in the Hindu 
camp ; he took possession of all the country west of the river 
and annexed it to his dominions. 

Subuctagee died in 997, leaving the character of a wise 
prince and skilful general. As usual in the oriental kingdoms 
at that time, dissensions arose and civil war followed about the 
succession. His son Mahmoud had generally accompanied his 
father in his campaigns, and had displayed much military talent. 
His father had reposed great confidence in him, and he had 
generally been regarded as the heir to the throne. But he was 
in some of the western provinces at the time of his father's 
death, and a younger brother, Ishmael, succeeded in obtaining 



44 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

possession of his father's treasures, and in causing himself to be 
acknowledged the successor of his father's power. A war now 
ensued between the two brothers, which after exhibiting for 
some time the usual characteristics of intrigue and deceit in 
oriental armies and courts, was terminated by a severe battle, 
the taldng of Ghizni, and the confinement of Ishmael for life. 
Mahmoud, now the undisputed sovereign of all his father's do- 
minions, was occupied for some time in estabHshing order and 
strengthening his government. As soon as he had arranged his 
affau's so that they no longer requu'ed his personal attention, he 
began his preparations for invading India, a purpose he had 
long cherished if he should succeed his father. He had accom- 
panied his father in his expedition to Multan and Lahore, and 
so had seen something and heard more of the wealth and glory 
of India. He had seen what armies the Hindu princes brought 
into the field. He knew the superior qualities of his Afghan 
troops, and believed that victory would follow his colors when 
unfurled in battle with the armies of the idolaters of Hindustan. 
He was at this time a very devout Mussulman, believing it was 
his duty to destroy aU idols and temples for idol-worship, and 
to bring aR idolaters to embrace Mohammedanism as the only 
true faith. 

Mahmoud, with such means at command, such a purpose 
long and fondly cherished, and such views of his own faith and 
of idolatry, would soon cause his power to be felt in India. « 
In 1001, the 4th year of his reign, he left Ghizni with a large 
force to inva,de those parts of India which were contiguous to 
his own dominions. Jypal, Haja of Lahore, was yet living and 
prepared to meet him with a large army. But Mahmoud 
defeated. this army and took Jypal prisoner. He then took 
Betinda, wMch was the capital or one of the principal cities 
of Jypal, and contained his treasures. He then returned to 
Ghizni with a great amount of spoil. Jypal was set at lib- 
erty to govern his own dominions as a dependent and tribu- 
tary prince or deputy of Mahmoud. This purpose, if it ever 
was his purpose, he did not carry into effect. On arriving 
in his capital he invested his son Anundpal with the govern- 
ment, caused a funeral pile to be prepared and funeral ceremo- 
nies to be performed, and then prostrating himself upon it he 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 45 

applied the fire with his own hand and perished in the 
flames.* 

Mahmoud was now engaged for some time in wars with the 
princes and tribes north and west of Afghanistan, and so had 
not leisure to add to his conquests in India. He made a hur- 
ried expedition to Lahore, and also to Multan to adjust some 
matters requiring his personal attention, but he returned to 
Ghizni as soon as possible. So the Hindu princes had time to 
consider what a dangerous neighbor they had on their borders, 
and to concert measures among themselves for self-defence.f 
From what they knew of Mahmoud's warlike character, his 
hatred of idolatry, and his love of plunder, they had reason to 
expect he would repeat his invasion as soon as the state of his 
dominions would admit, and so they formed a strong confeder- 
acy to resist him as their common enemy. This confederacy 
included the Rajas of Lahore, Oujein, Gwalior, Kalinga, 
Kanouj, Delhi, and Ajmere. This large combination shows 
that the invasion of Mahmoud had caused great excitement in 
northern India. And this excitement was not without sufficient 
cause. Wars in India have generally been contests between 
princes for the governing power, and in no way affecting the 
interests of the great body of the people, who cared little about 
the issue, if they were only let alone. But the invasions and con- 
quests of Mahmoud were of a very different character. They 
aimed at the subversion of the religion of the inhabitants as 
well as of the pov/er of the princes, and aU classes were roused 
to self-defence. " Even the Hindu women sold their jewels, 
melted down their golden ornaments, and sent their contributions 
fi-om a distance to furnish resources for this holy war." 

* " In those clays it was a custom of the Hindus that whatever Raja was 
twice defeated by his enemies, should be by that disgrace rendered unfit for 
further command. Jypal, in compliance with this custom, having raised his son 
to the government, ordered a funeral pile to be prepared, upon which he sacri- 
ficed himself to his gods." 

f Mahmoud's reign of 33 years was spent in continual war, enlarging his 
dominions or plundering idolaters, or suppressing insurrections. But we shall 
only give a sketch of those which had respect to India. We would remark, 
however, as showing his power and the customs and means of war in that age, 
that in a great battle near Balk, j\Iahmoud had 500 war-elephants, which spread 
around them terror and death and contributed much to gain the victory. 



46 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

Mahmoud, as soon as the state of his dominions would allow 
of his leaving them for awhile, again invaded India with a large 
force. The confederated army, which had been prepared to 
resist his further advance, much exceeded his expectations. He 
selected his position, entrenched his camp, and resolved to 
watch some favorable opportunity to attack the hosts arrayed 
against him. A body of archers who were sent out to attack 
the Hindus, brought on a conflict in which the army of Mah- 
moud at first suffered severely, but the elephants of the Raja or 
general commanding the Lidian army, becoming frightened, fled 
from the field, and the Hindus seeing their general had disap- 
peared, and supposing he had been killed, relaxed their efforts 
and soon began to give way. Mahmoud observing their state 
sent out a large body of cavahy, which routed and dispersed 
them with great carnage. Resolved to make the utmost of the 
dismay thus produced, he pursued them in every direction, and 
so completely dispersed them that they did not raUy or unite 
any more to resist him while on this expedition. 

Thus reheved from apprehension of any attack or further 
resistance, Mahmoud proceeded to attack a fortified temple 
called Bheem or Bheemghur, in the territory of Nagracote. 
This temple being regarded as a sacred place as well as impreg- 
nable fortress, the neighboring princes and rich people had 
deposited in it a great amount of treasure, jewels, etc. Accord- 
ing to Ferishta, " This temple contained a greater quantity of 
gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls than was ever collected 
in the royal treasury of any prince on earth." But the state- 
ments of Mohammedan historians concerning the amount of 
treasure found in some of the Hindu temples, must be greatly 
exaggerated. This temple was strongly fortified, but the garri- 
son had been removed to swell the army just defeated and dis- 
persed ; only the priests and a few families remained, and they 
soon surrendered at discretion. AU the treasures and whatever 
of value was found in the temple, were seized and became the 
property of the conquerors. From this place Mahmoud returned 
to Ghizni, and the next year he appointed a festival to cele- 
brate his victories and conquests in India. A large plain was 
selected for the exhibition, and the festival continued for 3 days. 
The gold and precious stones were exhibited in a manner to 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 47 

excite the greatest admiration of the spectators and the highest 
ideas of their value, as well as of the riches of the country 
where they were obtained. His generals assisted in giving 
splendor to the festival. " Sujnptuous banquets were provided 
for the spectators, alms were liberally distributed among the 
poor, and splendid presents were bestowed on persons distin- 
guished for their rank, merits, or sanctity." 

Such scenes were well fitted to prepare the minds of a people 
like the Afghans to make further invasions and yet greater con- 
quests in India, and there can be no doubt that they were 
designed to produce this effect. Accordingly we find that 
apparently as often as the state of his "dominions would allow 
of his absence, Mahmoud made expeditions into some parts 
of India. In 1017 he commenced his ninth expedition, in 
which the amount of forces he took with him, and the plans he 
intended to accomphsh, exceeded all the preceding. Ferishta 
says that his army, when he left Ghizni, consisted of 100,000 
horse, and 20,000 foot. His intention was to take the city of 
Kanouj, which is situated on the Ganges, 200 miles south-east 
from Delhi, and was then one of the most wealthy and popu- 
lous cities in India. He took an unusual route, passing on the 
south side of Cashmere and the Himalaya mountains till he 
reached the Ganges, and then followed the river to Kanouj. 
He found the Raja quite unprepared, who surrendered at dis- 
cretion. Mohammedan historians agree in saying that Mali- 
moud neither exacted any tribute nor obtained any plunder. 
They describe the city as being the most wealthy and splendid 
in India, and say that he left it uninjured, after tarrying only 
three days. All this may be true, but it is so different from his 
general character and his conduct towards other cities in India, 
and also from what might be expected from him and his army, 
and so different from their intentions and expectations when 
leaving Ghizni, and during their march of three months, that 
we feel inclined to doubt what the historians say, or to suppose 
that we do not understand the subject in some of its important 
connections and circumstances. Mahmoud proceeded to Mut- 
tra, taldng and plundering several places on the way. Muttra, 
or Mathura, had long been a place of gTeat sanctity, and the 
temples were large and splendid. He stopped there for 20 



48 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

days, and plundered the temples and the city of all the wealth 
that could be found. This amount is described as being very 
great, many of the idols being large and of pure gold and 
silver, all which were seized and melted down. One idol, when 
melted, yielded 2,150 lbs. of pure gold, and the gold and silver 
obtained from all the idols were sufficient to load 100 camels. 
So say Ferishta and the Mohammedan historians. 

But if Mahmoud found great plunder in some places, he 
encountered great resistance in others. One fort, called Mun- 
gee, resisted his attacks for 25 days. " And when the beseiged 
found the place no longer tenable, some rushed through the 
trenches upon the eneihy and met that death which they no 
longer endeavored to avoid. Some threw themselves headlong 
from the walls, and were dashed to pieces, while others burnt 
themselves in their houses with their wives and children, so that 
not one of the garrison survived the fatal catastrophe." 

At length Mahmoud, weary of destroying, or satisfied with 
plundering, returned with his army to Ghizni. " The plunder or 
spoils he had obtained, consisted of 23,000,000 drachms, 53,000 
captives, 350 elephants, besides jewels, pearls, and precious stones, 
which could not be properly estimated. Nor was the private spoil 
less than that which came into the public treasury." A part of 
their plunder was expended in the erection of a splendid 
mosque, far exceeding any before seen in Afghanistan. He 
also founded a university, which had a large hbrary and many 
learned men connected with it. His nobles also, who had seen 
the splendid buildings in Kanouj, Muttra, and other cities in 
India, erected large palaces, with parks around them, and 
Ghizni soon became one of the most splendid cities of that age. 

Some years passed without any expedition being made into 
India, when Mahmoud heard that the Raja of Kanouj, with 
whom he had made some treaty, was involved in war with 
some of the neighboring princes. He hastened into India with 
a large force, but did not reach Kanouj in time to save the Raja 
from being defeated, his capital taken, and himself put to death. 
The princes who had united to effect his ruin, on hearing of the 
arrival of Mahmoud, retreated in different directions, and find- 
ing it impossible to gratify his feelings of revenge upon them, 
he hastened back to Ghizni. 



HISTOKT THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 49 

Mahmoud gloried in being one of the great apostles of 
Mohammedanism, and a destroyer of idols and idolatry. He 
had caused a work to be written in which his great efforts for 
propagating the true faith and his zeal against idols and idola- 
try were celebrated. This book he sent to the Caliph. The 
CaUph was extremely pleased with the work, and " he appointed 
a festival day when it was read to all the people of Bagdad, 
and God was publicly praised for the spread of the true faith." 

Still Mahmoud was not satisfied with the reputation he had 
acquired for his zeal and exertions in propagating the true faith, 
or his avarice was not satisfied with the spoils he had acquired 
in eleven different expeditions into India. He had heard of a 
celebrated temple called Somnat, which was situated in the 
south-west part of Gujerat on the sea-shore. This temple was 
strongly fortified and richly endowed. The revenues of 2,000 
villages were appropriated for its support. From 200,000 to 300,- 
000 people sometimes resorted there at the time of an eclipse. 
Princes and rich men in all western India often sent valuable 
presents to the temple. 2,000 brahmins, 500 dancing women 
(courtezans), and 300 musicians were attached to it. The idol 
was reported to be of pure gold and was so sacred that it was 
daUy washed with water brought from the Ganges, a distance 
of nearly 1,000 miles. The brahmins and votaries reported and 
professed to believe that the success of the Mohammedans in 
plundering the temples and destroying the idols in the northern 
provinces of India, was because the people there had offended 
their gods and so had been abandoned to their enemies, but 
that neither Mahmoud nor any other Mohammedan would ever 
be able to obtain possession of Somnat ; and so none of his wor- 
shippers had any reason to fear, for the god would repel all 
attacks, was able to destroy aU his enemies in a moment, and 
that this power would be at once manifested, if any violence 
should be offered to his temple and his idol. 

These reports stiiTcd up the zeal of Mahmoud, and he re- 
solved to make another expedition into India, which should 
exceed aR he had yet made. He left Ghizni with a large 
army in September, 1024, and proceeded to Multan. From this 
city he had to cross a desert of more than 300 miles nearly des- 
titute of water and forage. He caused 20,000 camels to be- 

5 



50 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

loaded with water and provisions, and enjoined on all Ms army 
and followers to provide for themselves as well as they could. 
He crossed the desert to Ajmere and proceeded to Somnat by 
way of Anhalwara, then the capital of Gujerat. His appearance 
was everywhere so sudden that neither the princes nor the peo- 
ple were prepared to make any resistance, and they generally 
fled from their towns and cities for safety, while he pressed 
forward to accompKsh the great end of his expedition. At 
length Mahmoud came in sight of Somnat, which appeared 
like a great castle situated on a peninsula connected with 
the main land by a narrow isthmus. This isthmus was 
strongly fortiiied, and the walls were covered with men prepared 
to defend the place from sacrilege. As Mahmoud approached 
the place, a herald proclaimed to him and his army the danger 
of making any attack upon the temple, and warned them that 
if they should have the presumption and wickedness to show 
any disrespect to the god, he would instantly destroy them. 
Mahmoud had too much confidence in his own faith and too 
much contempt for the Hindu idols and deities to be deterred 
by such threats, and he made arrangements for attacking the 
temple the next day. His army was no less eager than himself, 
and as soon as it was sufficiently light, the archers commenced 
the attack upon the men on the walls. The courage which the 
assailants manifested and the great numbers that fell before 
their deadly aim, spread dismay amongst the Hindus. They 
assembled in the temple and prostrating themselves before the 
idol and imploring the god to assist them, they devoted them- 
selves to death for his honor and the defence of his temple. In 
the spirit of desperation or rather of self-sacrifice, they seized 
their weapons and rushed to the walls. Some of the Moham- 
medans had got upon the wall, many others were ascending by 
ladders, and aU were shouting " AJlaho Acber," " God is great." 
The Hindus attacked them with such fury that aU who had got 
upon the walls, were kiUed or thrust down, and those ascending 
were repelled. Ferishta says the attack was commenced early 
in the morning and was continued through the day till evening, 
when the Mohammedans retreated to then tents. 

Ths next day Mahmoud ordered the attack to be made simul- 
taneously the whole length of the walls, but the Hindus de- 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 51 

fended the place with great vigor, killing or thrusting down all 
who reached the top, so that the loss of the Mohammedans was 
greater than on the first day. On the third day Mahmoud was 
informed that a large army, the united forces of several princes 
who were anxious to protect their temple, was approaching to 
attack him. He arranged his army in order of battle, and 
marching to meet them, the two armies were soon engaged in 
conflict. While the battle was raging the Raja of Anhalwara 
arrived with a large force and joined the Hindus. This gave 
them fresh courage and disheartened the Mohammedans. Mah- 
moud seeing the dangerous state of himself and army, dis- 
mounted, and prostrating himself on the ground, implored God 
to interpose for the true faith and for the destruction of idolatry. 
He then mounted his horse, and exhorting all around him to 
fight for God valiantly and in the assured hope of victory, he 
called on them to follow him in the last and desperate attack 
upon the idolaters. By these means he inspned them with fresh 
courage, and raising a shout they renewed the battle with such 
impetuosity, that the Hindus soon gave way and fled, leaving 
5,000 men dead on the field. 

The men, who had defended the temple with so much valor 
and obstinacy, seeing no hope of relief lost all courage, and 
attempting no further defence, a large part of the people in the 
temple endeavored to escape in boats. But Mahmoud having 
learned what they were doing, ordered his men to seize aU the 
boats they could find, and then to pursue and destroy the fugi- 
tives. He placed guards around the place, and with a few select 
companions proceeded to inspect the interior parts of the tem- 
ple. They were struck with admiration at the grandeur of the 
structure. The roof or dome was supported by 56 great pil- 
lars curiously wrought and ornamented with precious stones. 
No external light was admitted, but the temple was illuminated 
by a great lamp in the centre, suspended from the roof by a 
chain of gold. The idol Somnat, which was 15 feet high, stood 
facing the entrance. Mahmoud, who gloried in his abhorrence 
and destruction of idolatry, was filled with indignation at the 
sight of this idol, and aiming a blow at the face with his hon 
mace, he struck ofl" the nose. The brahmins of the temple ap- 
parently shocked at such daring wickedness and anxious for the 



52 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

honor of their god, threw themselves at his feet and offered an 
enormous ransom * if he would spare the idol. His friends who 
accompanied him, advised him to accept the sum offered, and 
allow the brahmins to retam thek idol. But Mahmoud, ex- 
claiming that he had always gloried in destroying idolatry, and 
wished to be known and remembered as " a breaker and not a 
seller of idols," repeated his blow upon the idol. Others then 
joined him, and the idol, which was hollow, soon bursting 
pom-ed out a great quantity of diamonds, pearls, rubies, etc., 
which had been concealed in it, and would have been amply 
sufficient to pay the ransom offered by the brahmins. Besides 
the idol and the treasures contained in it, " there were in the 
temple some thousands of small images of gold and silver," and 
the amount of gold, jewels, and silver exceeded all he had ac- 
quired in his former expeditions into India. 

Mahmoud remained at different places in Gujerat for consid- 
erable time, and was so much pleased with the cUmate and 
country that he thought of transferring his court to some place 
m that part of India, and maldng it his residence. His success 
in acquiring possession of Somnat and the great amount of 
treasure obtained, appear to have inspired him with a deske of 
further conquests. But his friends, who wished to return to 
Ghizni, united in dissuading him from undertaldng such plans, 
and he relinquished them. Having inflicted what he thought 
was merited punishment upon the Hindu princes who had 
united in opposing him, he set out on his return home. On his 
way through the desert he and his army suffered exceedingly for 
want of water and provisions, and many died, but Biahmoud 
with his spoils succeeded in reaching Ghizni in safety. From 
this time till his decease he was occupied in expeditions mto 
different parts of his extensive dominions to coUect arrears of 
tribute, or to chastise some refractory vassals. A short time 
before his death, aware from his declining health that he could 
not long survive, he ordered aU his gold, jewels, silver, etc., to be 
brought out and arranged before him. " And after surveying 
them for awliile he wept at the thought of seeing them no more, 

* Ferishta says, " some crores of gold." A " crore of gold " -would be nearly 
5,000,000 dollars. Dow says "ten millions of gold." A crore is 10,000,000. 
Gibbon says the brahmins offered £10,000,000, or nearly $50,000,000. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 53 

and ordered them all to be carried back into the treasury. The 
next day he ordered a review of all his army, his elephants, 
camels, horses, and chariots, with which having feasted his eyes 
for some time from his travelling throne, he again burst into 
tears and retired in grief to his palace." He died at Ghizni in 
1030 at the age of 63, of which he had reigned for 35 years. 

Mahmoud was the most distinguished sovereign of the cen- 
tury in which he lived, and one of the most distinguished in all 
Mohammedan history. By some historians he has been extolled 
as the model of a perfect prince, and by others he has been des- 
cribed as a monster of avarice, injustice, and cruelty. Moham- 
medan historians, forming their opinions of his conduct and 
character according to their principles and prejudices, would 
give him a high place as a religious man and as a sovereign. 
But the inhabitants of India, who suffered so much from his 
avarice, his cruelty, and his fanaticism, would regard him as a 
man and monarch of unparalleled wickedness. He appears to 
have acted on the sentiment too common in Asiatic princes that 
it was right to treat as enemies and to plunder all who will not 
purchase peace upon such terms as may be dictated to them. 
He also appears to have acted upon the principle of some other 
early Mohammedan conquerors that it was right to make war 
upon all idolaters, to seize their property and sell them into 
slavery, if they did not at once embrace the faith of the Koran. 
He encouraged learning and founded a university at Ghizni. 
He invited several learned men to his court, and gave them lib- 
eral salaries. Among these was the celebrated Persian poet 
Ferdousi, whose work called Shah Nameh is so well known in 
oriental literature. Parts of this poem were recited to Mah- 
moud at different times, who expressed great admiration of the 
work, and gave liberal gifts to the author. But when finished 
after 30 years' labor upon it, the sum Mahmoud offered to give 
to the writer was so much less than he expected, that he refused 
to receive it, left the court of the monarch in disgust, and would 
never return. The edifices Mahmoud had seen in India made 
him anxious to increase the splendor of his own capital, and the 
mosques and palaces erected by him and his nobles made 
Ghizni at the time of his decease one of the most magnificent 
cities in the world. 

5* 



54 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Whatever may have been the character of his government 
over the countries professing his own faith, his expeditions into 
India, 12 in number and made at different times dm-ing his reign 
of 35 years, inflicted great miseries upon the inhabitants. Princes 
were defeated, dethroned, and in many cases put to death ; cities 
were plundered and burnt ; forts were seized and the garrisons 
massacred ; the country was laid waste and so many of the 
inhabitants carried to Ghizni and sold into slavery, that some- 
times the price of a man did not exceed one dollar. Mahmoud's 
zeal against idolatry was conspicuous in robbing and profaning 
temples, in destroying idols, and when intrinsically valuable in 
appropriating them to his own use, and in plundering their wor- 
shippers. But he showed little anxiety to convert them to his 
own faith, nor does it appear that the Mohammedan religion 
made any considerable progress in India in the way of conver- 
sions during his reign. 

Mahmoud left two sons, Mohammed and Masoud. The 
former was designed by Mahmoud to be his successor, and soon 
after his death Mohammed w^as duly invested with authority, 
and generally acknowledged to be the sovereign. But Masoud, 
who was at that time in Ispahan, possessed the personal qual- 
ities which in the opinion of the Afghans better fitted him for 
exercising the supreme power. He had daring courage, a noble 
personal appearance, love of power, and great decision and 
energy of character. These qualities had always made Mm the 
favorite of the army, and plans were soon formed to invest him 
with the supreme authority. On his arrival at Ghizni the 
AA^hole army declared themselves in his favor. Mohammed was 
seized ; and his eyes were put out ; he was placed in confinement, 
and Masoud ascended the throne in a few months after his 
father's death. The western provinces of his kingdom were in 
a very unsettled state, and he was occupied much of the time 
for several years in suppressing insurrections and repelhng the 
invasions of the Tartar tribes. In 1039 he was defeated by the 
Turki chief, Togrul Beg, and finding himself no longer able to 
defend his dominions or to support his authority, he collected 
what force he could, and proceeded into India. Soon after 
crossing the Indus, a mutiny took place in his army, which 
finally resulted in deposing him, and declaring his brother 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAK PERIOD. 55 

Mohammed to be Sultan. Mohammed was incapable of ad- 
ministering the government on account of his blindness, and so 
retaining only the name for himself he appointed his son 
Ahmed to be his deputy, who began his administration by 
putting Masoud to death. 

The affairs of Ghizni continued for a long time in an unset- 
tled state. The army was occupied in repelling the invasions 
of the Tartar tribes, and in suppressing insurrections in the 
western and central provinces of the empire. The provinces 
on the Indus continued in nominal subjection to Ghizni, while 
the Hindu princes of places further east, as Delhi, Kanouj, etc., 
gradually recovered courage and strengthened their power 
against any future invasions. The temples were rebuilt and 
new idols were consecrated in the place of those destroyed by 
Mahmoud. Encouraged by the distracted state of Ghizni, and 
anxious to expel the Mohammedans from India, some Hindu 
princes laid siege to Lahore, then the capital of the Moham- 
medan possessions east of the Indus. But they failed to ac- 
complish their object. Lahore was vigorously defended, and 
the Hindus after beseiging it for some months, were compelled 
to leave it in the possession of their enemies. 

The sovereigns of Ghizni, thou:gh unable for several successive 
reigns to extend thek power in India, and frequently without 
the means of enforcing their authority in provinces nominally 
subject to them, did not relinquish their claim to their former 
conquests, nor their purpose of extending their dominions. The 
Hindu princes were all aware of this fondly cherished purpose, 
and had frequent presages that it would at some future time be 
carried into effect. Among the sovereigns of Ghizni was Sul- 
tan Ibrahim, who was a professed devotee. He spent much 
of his time in religious duties, as prayer, fasting, etc. He sent 
two splendid copies of the Koran, written by himself, as pres- 
ents to the CaUph, who caused one of them to be deposited in 
the library of Mecca, and the other in the library of Medina. 
Mohammedan historians say that his government "was as re- 
markable for its moderation and justice, as he was himself for 
his temperance and piety. As soon as he was quietly settled in 
his own dominions he despatched an army into India, which 
Ferishta says, " conquered many places which had not before 



56 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

been visited by the Mussulman arms." Some time afterwards 
he made another expedition into India, accompanying the army 
himself. He is said to have penetrated further into the country 
than any previous conqueror. He took several cities and forti- 
fied places, and returned to Ghizni with much plunder and a 
great number of captives.* He reigned 42 years, and he left 40 
sons and 32 daughters. He was succeeded by his son Masoud, 
who sent a large army into India under one of his distinguished 
generals. " This army crossed the Ganges, and plundered 
many rich cities and temples of their wealth." He transferred 
his court from Ghizni to Lahore, and made this city his capital 
during a part of his reign. He was the first Mohammedan 
sovereign who fixed his capital in India. 

In the early part of the 12th century a violent civil war raged 
in Ghizni, and for several days the city was plundered and the 
inhabitants were massacred. Ferishta says, " The noble city 
was given up to flame, slaughter, and devastation. The mas- 
sacre continued for the space of 7 days, in which time pity 
seemed to have fled the earth, and the fiery spirits of demons to 
actuate the bodies of men." The splendid mosques and palaces 
erected by Mahmoud and his nobles and successors, were burnt 
and demolished. All were destroyed except the tombs of Mah- 
moud, Masoud, and Ibrahim. Thus, this city, which had been 
made so magnificent by the plunder of the cities and temples 
of India, became itself a scene of desolation, and never again 
recovered its former splendor. From this time Lahore became 
the capital as long as the descendants of Mahmoud retained 
their power. 

THE HOUSE OF GHORI, A.D. 1160 - 1206. 

This civil war resulted in the triumph of Alia ud Deen, a 
prince of the province of Ghor, and hence the dynasty which he 
commenced took the surname of Ghori. His family after some 
reverses, succeeded in establishing their power in Ghizni. They 
exhibited the too common quahties of the princes of central 
Asia, courage, cruelty, treachery, and revenge. In a.d. 1176, 
Shahab ud Deen of this family made his fust expedition into 

* Ferislita savs, " one hundred thousand.*' 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 57 

India, and took Uch, then a considerable city at the junction of 
the rivers of the Punjab and the Indus. Two years after he 
made an expedition into Gujerat. He was here defeated and 
was compelled to return with much loss and in great dis- 
tress. He made two attacks on Lahore and compelled the 
prince Khusru Malik to dehver up his son as a hostage for ful- 
filling the treaty then made. He next invaded Scinde and over- 
ran the country to the mouth of the Indus. Returning from 
Scinde he again made an attack upon Khusru Malik, apparently 
determined to subvert his power and take possession of his king- 
dom. Khusru defended his kingdom with unexpected vigor, 
and Shahab ud Deen resorted to treachery to accomphsh his 
purpose. He pretended that in consequence of alarming intelli- 
gence from Ghizni he was anxious to proceed there immediately 
with his army, and. wished first to make peace with Khusru. 
And to show how anxious he was for peace he unbound Khus- 
ru's son, who had continued with him as a hostage, and sent 
him to his father with the proposals. The aged king not sus- 
pecting any treachery, went out with a small force to meet his 
son thus unexpectedly sent to him. In the mean time Shahab 
ud Deen with a select body of cavahy interposed by an unfre- 
quented way between Khusru and his capital. He then sur- 
rounded him and took him prisoner. Lahore made no further 
resistance. Khusru and his family were sent prisoners to 
Ghizni, where after a while they were aU put to death. Shahab 
ud Deen took possession of ah Khusru Mahk's dominions, and 
had no Mohammedan rival or power to oppose him or to inter- 
fere with his purpose of conquest. 

India was at this time divided into many small kingdoms, 
and apparently no way prepared to contend with an army 
of Afghans, Tartars, and other tribes of central Asia, whose 
profession was war, and who had passed much of their life with 
their weapons in their hands. The Hindus, too, had much pain- 
ful experience of the superior skill, courage, and prowess of the 
Mohammedans. The efiect of Mahmoud's expeditions and 
victories was that the Mohammedans went into battle expecting 
to conquer, and the Hindus engaged in conflict with the expec- 
tation of being defeated. The fanatical spuit of the Mohamme- 
dans, their avowed principle that it was their duty to propagate 



58 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

their faith in the use of all the means they had used, as the 
robbing and profaning of temples, the destruction of idols, and 
plundering and reducing to slavery aU who resisted, aU tliis was 
weU known to the inhabitants of India. If the Mohammedans 
despised and abhorred the Hindus for their superstition and 
idolatry, these in turn dreaded and detested the former for their 
bigotry and intolerance, for the contempt they showed to aU the 
rules of caste, and for the violent and sacrilegious manner in 
which they treated the most sacred persons, places, and things 
of the Hindu religion. If the Mohammedans believed that 
they were obeying the command of God, when compeUing the 
Hindus to abandon idolatry and embrace the faith of their 
prophet, the Hindus were not less confident that they were them- 
selves obeying their deities and securing their favor when 
defending their temples from being profaned, their idols from 
being destroyed, and themselves and their families from being 
polluted. The views of the Mohammedans in invading and 
conquering India, and of the Hindus in repelling such inva- 
sion and endeavoring to preserve their independence, involved 
motives and feelings of a very different character from those 
which are involved in the common wars of aggression and 
defence. 

Shahab ud Deen's first battle was with the Rajas of Delhi and 
Ajmere, who had united their armies to resist him. Ferishta 
says the united army of these princes contained 200,000 men 
and 3,000 elephants. The battle was fought on the great plain 
a few miles from Panniput, where the fate of the empne of 
India has been several times decided. The Afghan armies con- 
sisted chiefly of cavahy, and their mode of fighting was to 
make successive charges at fuU speed upon the centre of their 
enemies, till they gave way and were thrown into confusion. 
The Hindu mode of fighting was to outflank then- enemies and 
so inclose them on three sides. Li this battle they succeeded 
by their superior numbers in nearly surrounding the Afghans. 
Shahab ud Deen fought with great valor till he was severely 
wounded, when he escaped with much difficulty, and his army 
fled. The Hindus pursued them with great slaughter for many 
miles. At Lahore Shahab ud Deen collected the remains of his 
army, and putting the city in a state of defence, proceeded to 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN" PERIOD. 59 

GMzni. Here he collected an army of Afghans, Tartars, and 
Turldsh adventurers, who were ready to follow the fortunes of 
war under his command in India. The Raja of Delhi expect- 
ing he would return, had collected an immense army and pro- 
ceeded to meet him. Shahab ud Deen found an opportunity of 
attacking the Hindu army unexpectedly with a part of his force 
in the night. The attack at first caused some confusion, but 
daylight soon appearing, order was restored, and the Hindus 
prepared to become the assailants. Having failed in his original 
design, Shahab ud Deen now retreated before them tiU they 
became disordered in pursuit, when suddenly turning " he 
attacked them at the head of 12,000 chosen horse in steel armor, 
and this prodigious army once shaken, lilce a great building tot- 
tered to its fall and was lost in its own ruins." The victory was 
complete, and the loss of the Hindus, among whom were several 
of their princes, was very great. After this battle Shahab ud 
Deen extended his conquests in India, taking and plundering 
Kanouj, Benares, Gwalior, Gujerat, and many other places and 
provinces. When encamped on the bank of the Indus, the state 
and circumstances of his tent were carefully observed by some 
Gakliars, whose friends he had caused to be put to death, and 
who were watching for an opportunity to take revenge. Twenty 
of these men swam over the river in the night, and entering his 
tent assassinated him when he was asleep. He had reigned 32 
years. His conquests in India were greater than those of Mah- 
moud, and they were of a more permanent character. Mah- 
moud retained possession of only a small part of what he 
conquered and plundered. Shahab ud Deen annexed the prov- 
inces he conquered to his own dominions,- and as far as possible 
retained possession of them. The treasures he accumulated 
were immense, requiring 4,000 camels to carry them. At the 
time of his decease nearly all India north of the Nerbudda, 
together with Bengal, Scinde, and Gujerat, had acknowledged 
his authority. He had no sons, and one of his nephews, Mah- 
moud Ghori, was proclaimed his successor. No opposition was 
made to this course, but it was soon obvious that he would not 
succeed to his uncle's power. Shahab ud Deen had educated 
several Tm-kish slaves, and then put them into responsible situ- 
ations. At the time of his death, Cuttub ud Deen, one of these 



60 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

slaves, was governor of the provinces in the northern part of 
India, and another, Naslr ud Deen, was in charge of Multan 
and Scinde. These governors became vii'tually independent 
princes on Shahab ud Deen's death in a.d. 1206. 



CUTTUB UD DEEN AND HIS SUCCESSORS — A.D. 1206-1288. 

From the death of Shahab ud Deen the Mohammedan domin- 
ions in India became entirely separated from the countries west 
of the Indus, and so formed an independent kingdom. Cuttub 
ud Deen, the first independent sovereign, was originally a Turk- 
ish slave, and was purchased by Shahab ud Deen, who find- 
ing that he possessed good natural abilities and had been well 
educated, intrusted him with some important transactions. In 
these matters he exhibited so much capacity, moderation, and 
faithfulness that Shahab ud Deen intrusted him with the admin- 
istration of the government when -absent himself from his 
capital on political affairs at Ghizni, or pursuing his career of 
conquest in India. Cuttub ud Deen had been intrusted with the 
administration of Delhi and its dependent provinces for most of 
the time for several years previous to Shahab ud Deen's death, 
and soon after that event he was generally acknowledged to be 
sovereign, or emperor. He was respected for his ability, moder- 
ation, and justice, but unhappily for his subjects he lived only 4 
years after his accession to the supreme power. 

Cuttub ud Deen was succeeded by his son Aram, who soon 
showed that he had not capacity for administering such a gov- 
ernment, and was removed to m.ake room, for his brother-in-law 
Altumsh, who had for some time been commander-in-chief of 
the army. Altumsh had the reputation of being the son of a 
Tartar chief, but being the favorite of his father he was envied 
by his brothers and sold to some traveUing merchants, who car- 
ried him into Bochara and again sold him. He was remarka- 
ble for his beauty and his abilities, and having passed through 
various hands and lived in different places, he was at length 
purchased at Delhi by Cuttub ud Deen, and became a great 
favorite with his daughter. He was occupied for several years 
after his accession to power in suppressing insurrections in dif- 
ferent parts of his dominions. The Hindus were ready to 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 61 

embrace any opportunity which occurred for expelling the Mo- 
hammedans, whose government and rehgion with the means 
they used to propagate it, were exceedingly odious. It was in 
the reign of Altumsh that Ghengis Khan with his Tartar hordes 
overran and laid waste Persia and other countries west of the 
Indus. Great anxiety was felt for several years in view of their 
probable invasion of India, and aU eyes were turned to the west. 
But this scourge of so many nations did not extend his ravages 
east of the Indus. One of his chiefs crossed the river and laid 
siege to Multan, but failing in his attempts to take it, he pro- 
ceeded into Scinde and then went into the countries west of 
the Indus. In this invasion the Tartars, or Moguls, as they 
were usually called, conducted with their accustomed cruelty 
and barbarity, ravaging the country, plundering the cities and 
seizing the inhabitants for slaves, if they could make any use 
of them, or obtain any price for them. At one time they mas- 
sacred 10,000 prisoners to save the expense of keeping them 
rather than set them at liberty, when they would have gone into 
different parts of the country and found provisions for them- 
selves. 

Altumsh, as soon as he was relieved from apprehension of an 
invasion by the Moguls, resolved to extend his dominions in In- 
dia, and he was thus engaged during the remaining years of his 
reign. At the time of his decease aU the countries to the north 
of a Hne running from Surat to the mouth of the Ganges ac- 
knowledged the government of Delhi. The measure of obedi- 
ence, however, differed much in different places, and at different 
times. In some provinces the old Hindu dynasties of sovereigns 
were soon annihilated, and in other places they were allowed to 
retain and exercise much of their former power in their own 
territory, upon condition of paying an annual tribute to the em- 
peror. This tribute was always paid reluctantly, and was with- 
held when it was believed payment could not be enforced. The 
army of the emperor and his deputies or governors consisted 
chiefly of Mohammedans, who became the mihtary class, but 
the great body of the inhabitants stiU continued to profess the 
Hindu religion, and to practice its rites and ceremonies openly 
so far as they could do it, without incurring persecution. The 
Hindus were so mu.ch attached to their superstitions, especially 

6 



62 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

to their distinctions of caste, that they often chose to suffer 
death rather than embrace the Mohammedan faith. This pas- 
sive resistance to Mohammedanism on the part of the inhab- 
itants of Lidia, concurred, with some other causes, to abate the 
zeal of the conquerors for its propagation. Some of them be- 
came apparently satisfied with the possession of the country 
and the professed obedience of the people, leaving conversion to 
be effected gradually by persuasion, and the aid and influence of 
the government in giving rewards and employment to prose- 
lytes. Stni the course of the government varied according to 
the religious character of the respective conquerors and their 
subordinates, and the. Hindus had the greatest dread of zeal- 
ously rehgious rulers. 

Near the close of his reign Altumsh received investiture from 
the Caliph of Bagdad. This was a great honor, and it came 
in the view of all Mohammedans from the highest authority. 
His zeal for Mohammedanism and hatred of idolatry, may have 
procured this honor for him ; or it may have inspired him with 
zeal in propagating the faith of the Prophet. The historian says 
that in the ancient city of Oujein " Altumsh destroyed the 
magnificent and rich temple of Makal, which was formed upon 
the same plan with that of Somnat, had been building 300 
years, and was surrounded by a wall 100 cubits high." In this 
city, also, he found an image of Vicramditya, formerly a cele- 
brated Raja, from whom the people of that country still reckon 
their era. This image, with many others, some of stone 
and others of brass, " he ordered to be carried to Delhi, and 
broken to pieces at the door of the great mosque." 

The celebrated column called Cuttub Minar, near Delhi, was 
commenced in the reign of Cuttub ud Deen, but was finished 
in the reign of Altumsh.* Near it is a mosque in an unfinished 

* This pillar, or tower, is 242 feet high and 106 feet in circumference at the 
base. It has 4 balconies, each supported on large stone brackets, and sur- 
rounded with battlements of richly cut stone, to enable people to walk round 
the pillar with safety. The 1st balcony is at the height of 90 feet; the 2d at 
140 ; the 3d at 180, and the 4th at 203 feet. Up to the 3d balcony the pillar 
is built of fine red sandstone. From the 3d balcony it is built chiefly of white 
marble, but " the summit is crowned with a majestic cupola of the fine red 
sandstone." From the base to the 1st balcony the exterior part is fluted into 
27 divisions, alternately semicircular and angular. From the 1st to the 2d bal- 



HISTOET — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 63 

state, which for grandeur of design, and elegance of execution 
is said not to be exceeded by any in India. Several men, dis- 
tinguished for learning, lived upon his bounty at his court, and 
by their presence and influence increased his fame. His reign 
continued for 26 years, and he is reckoned by the Mohammedan 
historians as a prince of great valor, prudence, and piety. 

Some years previous to his death Altumsh appointed his son 
and intended successor, Feroze Shah, to high situations, that he 
might acquire experience and reputation, and so be prepared to 
succeed him. He was at Delhi when his father died. He 
immediately ascended the throne. The nobles swore allegiance 
and brought their presents to him. The poets celebrated his 
praises, and he gave presents to them. These congratulations 
and rejoicings were scarcely passed when he began to show how 
unworthy he was of the imperial dignity, by indulging in 
debauchery and profligacy, and by squandering the treasures 
his father had accumulated, on " courtezans, comedians, and 
musicians." The affairs of government were chiefly managed 
by his mother, who to gratify her envy or ambition caused 
many innocent persons to be put to death. The profligacy of 
the emperor and the abuse of power by his mother gave so 
great dissatisfaction that several attempts were made to de- 
throne him. One of these, in which the nobles put his sister, 
Sultana E,ezia, upon the throne, was successful. The emperor 
was taken prisoner and kept in confinement until his death. 

Sultana Rezia is remarkable among the rulers of India. 
Ferishta, the most reliable historian of that period, in describing 
her reign, says, " This princess was adorned with every quali- 
fication required in the ablest kings, and the strictest scrutineers 

cony, the flutlngs are all semicircular ; from the 2d to the 3d they are all angu- 
lar ; and from the 3d to the summit the surface is smooth. Around the 1st story 
are 5 horizontal belts containing sentences from the Koran, engraved in bold 
relief In the 2d story are 4 such belts, and in the 3d there are 3. The ascent 
is by a spiral staircase within, containing 380 steps. From this staircase are 
passages into the balconies with windows at intervals for the admission of air 
and light. This pillar, generally reputed to be the finest in the world, has 
stood more than 600 years. The same emperor began to erect another 
pillar near this, but died before it was raised to the first balcony. Tradi- 
tion says that he designed these pillars to be the minarets of a mosque of corre- 
sponding size and grandeur. 



64 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of her actions, could find in her no fault but that she was a 
woman?' Her education was such that she could read the 
Koran, and so ascertain for herself the prmciples of her faith. 
She evinced such a knowledge of business and talent for govern- 
ment, that her father Altumsh, when leaving Delhi to conduct 
the war in Malwa, appointed her to be regent in his absence. 
"^And when asked by his nobles why he appointed his daughter 
to such an office, instead of some one of his sons, he replied 
that she was more capable and trustworthy than any of them. 
The reputation she then acquired in her father's reign, procured 
her elevation to power when her brother was dethroned for his 
incapacity and profligacy. On being invested with the supreme 
power she changed her apparel, and assuming the imperial 
robes appeared daily on the throne, and transacted aU the 
public business in the manner usual with the emperors. 

Of the parties who united in dethroning Feroze Shah, one 
was opposed to investing Rezia with the supreme power, 
and collecting a large force, they proceeded to Delhi and de- 
feated the fii'st army that marched against them. The em- 
press, however, proved herself quite equal to the exigency by 
sowing dissensions among the leaders, so that the confederacy 
was soon dissolved, and peace restored. The commander-in- 
chief of the army having died, several changes were soon made 
among the great officers of State. One of them, who was 
originally an Abyssinian slave, gave great offence to the other 
nobles, who formed a combination to depose her, as soon as 
they could find an opportunity to do it. The empress having 
ascertained theif plan opposed them with great spirit. She 
marched against the governor of Lahore, who was one of the 
parties. He was disappointed in respect to aid from some of 
the confederates, and was compelled to throw himself upon her 
mercy. When on the way with her army to chastise another 
refractory noble, a mutiny occurred among her own forces, in 
which the Abyssinian favorite was killed, and she was herself 
seized and sent to the fort of Tiberhind. The nobles then 
assembled at Delhi, and declared Byram Shah, her brother, to 
be emperor. Alturia, to whose fort she was sent for custody, 
who was one of the first that rebelled against her, on becoming 
acquainted with her, was so much captivated with her beauty, 



HISTORY — -THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 65 

her accomplishments, and her talents, that he offered to marry 
her, at the same time pledging himself to support her right to 
the throne against all his former friends and confederates. The 
marriage was soon celebrated, and by their united influence 
collecting a large force they proceeded to Delhi to assert and 
sustain her rights. A severe battle was fought near the city, in 
which the empress was defeated and fled to Tiberhind. In a 
short time she was able again to appear in the field, but she 
suffered another defeat. She and her husband were taken 
prisoners, and both were put to death. Thus died Sultana 
E-ezia or Rezia Begum, who, considering the class of people to 
whom she belonged and the age in which she hved, appears to 
have been one of the most remarkable personages in the Mo- 
hammedan history of India. Her reign continued for three and 
a half years. 

The nobles united in putting Byram Shah on the throne, but 
he soon showed that he was unfit for the dignity to which he 
had been promoted, and it became equally obvious that some 
of the nobles had united in raising him to this dignity merely to 
attain their private ends. Dissensions and intrigues, conspira- 
cies and assassinations followed each other in quick succession. 
In the mean time news reached Delhi that the Moguls had 
invaded the Punjab and plundered Lahore. A general council 
of the State was caUed, and it was determined to send a large 
army to Lahore under the vizier. This man appears to have 
been talented, ambitious, and treacherous. While absent from 
Delhi with the army, by misrepresentations to the nobles con- 
cerning the emperor, he excited their disaffection towards him, 
and then by informing the emperor of their disaffection he 
excited his jealousy of them, and obtained from him an avowed 
intention of punishing them. The consequence was that the 
army returned to Delhi and besieged the emperor tln-ee months 
in his capital, when the city was taken, and he was first thrown 
into prison, and then put to death. 

Alia ud Deen was the next emperor. He was raised to this 
dignity by those who had deposed his predecessor. If he 
excelled his predecessor in capacity, he was also more profli- 
gate, more addicted to low vice, more cruel and more oppres- 
sive. In his reign the Moguls made an invasion into Bengal 

6* 



66 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

through Tibet, but they were defeated and driven back. The 
next year they invaded Scinde, but on the approach of the 
emperor's army they retreated and soon left the country. The 
emperor at length became so unpopular that the nobles united 
in deposing him. He was then thrown into prison and there 
kept till he died. 

Nasir ud Deen, a grandson of Altumsh, became the next 
emperor. For some years in the early part of his life he was 
kept in confinement by the reigning sovereign. He was after- 
wards released and intrusted with the government of Barage, 
where he was much respected for his moderation, wisdom, and 
love of justice. The Moguls had now obtained possession of 
the countries west of the Indus, and the government and people 
of India were in continual dread of them. No great invasion, 
however, was made by them during this reign. Nasir ud Deen's 
reign continued for 20 years. Misrule and anarchy had prevailed 
in some provinces of the empire during the two preceding reigns, 
and he was occupied for several years in restoring order and 
enforcing the payment of tribute. In accomplishing these 
objects he had some severe conflicts with some of the Moham- 
medan governors of provinces and with the Hindu princes. 
Among these the Rajpoots were conspicuous. The conflicts 
with them were severe and conducted with great barbarity on 
both sides. In one battle 10,000 Rajpoots Avere slain, and 90 
chiefs were taken prisoners. The chiefs were all put to death, 
and all the soldiers, who were taken prisoners, were killed or 
condemned to perpetual slavery. 

In this reign an ambassador came to Delhi from Haluku Khar}, 
the grandson of the celebrated Ghengis Khan, and was received 
and entertained with royal magnificence.* Nasir ud Deen in 
his private Hfe and habits was a dervish. His personal expenses 

* The following extract from Ferislita will give some idea of the com-t of 
Delhi at that time : — " The vizier went out to meet the ambassador with 
50,000 horse of Arabs, Aglms, Turks, Khiljees, and Afghans; 200,000 infantry 
in arms; 2,000 choice elephants of war, and 3,000 carriages of fire-works. 
He drew up in order of battle, formed in columns of 20 deep, with the artillery 
and cavalry properly disposed. Having then exhibited some feats of horseman- 
ship in mock battles and fully displayed his pomp, he conducted him into the 
royal palace. There the court Avas very splendid, every thing being set out in 
the most gorgeous and magnificent manner. All the omras, officers of state, 
judges, priests, and great men of the city wore present, besides five princes of 



HISTOET — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 67 

he defrayed by making copies of the Koran and selling them. 
He had only one wife and no concubines. His food was of the 
simplest and plainest kind, and was all prepared by his wife. 
When she one day complained that she had burned her hand in 
baking the bread, and requested a female servant to assist her, 
he refused, saying that " he was only a ti'ustee for the State, and 
that he was determined not to burden it with needless expenses." 
He was learned, and supported several learned men at his court. 
His government during the latter part of his reign was popular, 
and appears to deserve a high place among the early Moham- 
medan emperors in India. He left no children. 

Ghias ud Deen Bulbun, commonly called by European histo- 
rians Balin, succeeded to the vacant throne. He was vizier and 
had the chief administration of government in the preceding 
reign. There are different accounts of his, origin. Ferishta 
says that his father was a Turkish chief, and had the command 
of 10,000 horse in the war in which his son was taken prisoner, 
and that the merchant who bought him on learning that he was 
a relation of the emperor, Altumsh, brought him to Delhi and 
presented him to the emperor, who in return gave the merchant 
a liberal reward. He took an active part in the intrigues and 
revolutions in Delhi till he obtained the office of vizier. He 
then conducted the affairs of the government in such a way that 
Nash ud Deen for many years had little besides the name and 
title of royalty. In the reign of Altumsh he was one of a 
society of 40 Turkish slaves, who engaged to support one 
another, and on the emperor's death to divide the empire among 
themselves. But jealousies and dissensions prevented them 
from attempting it. Several of them however rose to fill high 
situations, and when Bulbun became emperor he began from 
feelings of jealousy or some unknown cause to remove them, 
and continued to do so till all perished by the sword or by 
poison. Having removed all who were members of this asso- 
ciation, he was careful to appoint only men of respectable fam- 
ily connections to situations in his government. He excluded 

Ayrac, Khorassan, and Maverulneer -n-ith their retinues wlio had taken protec- 
tion at Delhi from the arms of Ghengis Khan, who a little before that time had 
overran the most part of Asia. Many Rajas of Hindustan, subject to the 
empire, were there and stood next to the throne." 



68 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Hindus from all situations of honor and responsibiKty. His 
proceedings appear to have had much of that capricious char- 
acter so common in the despotic sovereigns of Asia. 

He washed to acquu-e a character for liberality, and to have a 
splendid court. In this respect circumstances favored him. Of 
the sovereigns and princes who v^^ere expelled from their domin- 
ions by Ghengis Khan and his successors, or who fled from their 
ravages, more than 20 were living at one time in Delhi. The 
emperor gave them palaces for their residence, and pensions for 
their support. On all public occasions they all stood to the 
right and left of his throne, ranged in order according to their 
dignity. These sovereigns and princes brought with them from 
their respective countries many men distinguished for their 
learning and their knowledge of the arts and sciences. These 
philosophers, poets, and other learned men assembled every 
night in the palace of Khan Shedid, the heir apparent, where 
they had Ameer Chuseru a celebrated poet, for their president. 
When Bulbun went abroad, his body-guards consisted of 1,000 
noble Turks in splendid armor and mounted on the finest 
Persian horses. The great nobles of the empire imitated the 
emperor as far as they could in pomp and display, and his 
court was then probably the most splendid in the world.* 

* The following extract from Ferislita will give some idea of the court of 
Delhi at this time, or in a.d. 12G5 : — "In the retinue of these princes were 
the most famous men for learning, war, arts, and sciences that Asia at that time 
produced. The court of Hindustan was therefore in the days of Bulbun reck- 
oned the most polite and magnificent in the world. All the philosophers, poets, 
and divines formed a society every night at the house of Khan Shedid, the heir 
apparent of the empire, and Ameer Chuseru, the poet, presided at these meetings. 
Another society of musicians, dancers, mimics, players, buffoons, and story-tellers 
was constantly at the house of the emperor's second son, Kera Khan, who was 
given to pleasure and levity. The omras followed the example of their superi- 
ors, so that various societies and clubs were formed in every quarter of tlie 
city. The Sultan having a great passion for splendor and magnificence in his 
palaces, equipages, and liveries, he Avas imitated by the court. 

" Such was the pomp and grandeur of the royal presence, that none could 
approach the throne without terror. The ceremonies of introduction were con- 
ducted with so much reverence and solemnity, and every thing disposed so as to 
strike awe and astonishment into the beholders. Nor was Bulbun less mag- 
nificent in his cavalcades. His stall elephants were caparisoned in purjile and 
gold. His horseguards, consisting of 1,000 noble Turks in splendid armor, 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 69 

Insurrections were made in several provinces in the early part 
of Bulbun's reign. In suppressing these, he acted with great 
vio-or and energy. But he at the same time exhibited great and 
apparently unnecessary severity and cruelty. In Mewat he is 
said to have caused more than 100,000 persons to be put to 
death. In suppressing some disorders in Juanpore and Benares 
he caused many thousands of men, women, and children to be 
killed in one common massacre. The governor of Bengal hav- 
ing refused to send to the emperor any part of the plunder he 
had acquired in some war, and soon afterwards assuming the 
title of king, the emperor proceeded against him at the head of 
a large army. He was occupied in this expedition three years, 
and was successful in suppressing the rebellion. The army of 
the governor, or king as he caUed himself, was defeated, 
and the governor was himself killed as he was endeavoring to 
swim his horse over the river. The emperor's cruelty towards 
those who had taken any part, or who were taken prisoners in 
this rebellion, excited great displeasure at the court, and in the 
cu'cle of his friends. They resolved to remonstrate against such 
unnecessary severity. But it was with great difficulty that the 
Cazees, the Mufties and the great and learned men of the court 
uniting in one petition, were able to induce the emperor to 
change his conduct. K this fact shows the cruel disposition of 
the emperor, it also shows the character of the court in a very 
favorable Ught, that should dare openly and pubHcly to express 
to an absolute and tyrannical despot, then- views and feelings 
of his actions in a matter of this nature, and that they should 
succeed in inducing him to change his purpose. 

Near the close of his reign the Moguls invaded the Punjab. 
The emperor's oldest son Mohammed defeated them in battle, 
but was himself killed in the pursuit. The emperor grieved 
much for the loss of this son, as he was much attached to him 

were mounted upon the finest Persian steeds, witli bridles of silver and saddles 
of rich embroidery; 500 chosen men in rich livery, with their drawn swoixls 
upon upon their shoulders, ran proclaiming his ai3proach, and clearing the 
way before him. All the omras followed according to their rank with their 
various equipages and attendants. The monarch, in short, seldom went with 
less than 100,000 armed men, which he used to say was not to gratify any van- 
ity in himself, but to exalt him in the eyes of the people." 



70 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and intended he should be his successor. He was now in his 
80th year and soon sank under his afflictions and infirmities. 
His reign continued for 22 years. 

Soon after the death of Bulbun his grandson Kei Kobad 
was raised to the throne. His father Bokarra Khan was yet 
living and was the governor of Bengal. In his personal appear- 
ance Kei Kobad was remarkably handsome, in his manners he 
was affable and agreeable, and in his disposition mild and 
amiable. His education had been conducted by able masters, 
and he excelled in a taste for literature ; he had also much gen- 
eral knowledge and great expectations were formed of him. But 
their hopes were soon disappointed. When declared emperor 
he was only 18 years old, an age httle suited to the temptations, 
trials, and intrigues of an eastern court. He soon yielded to 
temptation and gave himself up to pleasure. The vizier, 
Nizam ud Deen, with a view to secure the throne for himself, 
encouraged the young emperor in his vicious course. Nor was 
he in any way scrupulous in respect to the means he used. 
He managed to remove by death or disgrace all the ministers 
and servants of the emperor, who would not be subservient to 
his own promotion. As he had reason to beheve that the Mo- 
gul and Persian chiefs in the employment of the emperor would 
continue to be faithful to their royal master, he endeavored by 
intrigue and treachery to procm*e their assassination, and he 
accomphshed his purpose. This course of villainy for raising 
himself to the tlirone was interrupted by the approach of Bo- 
karra Khan, the emperor's father, who had come from Bengal 
to visit his son. The vizier representing to the emperor that his 
father had come to deprive him of all his power, induced him 
to go out with a force to oppose his father. But as the two 
armies drew near each other, Bokarra Khan appealed so 
strongly to his son's feehngs that the vizier was compeUed to 
make arrangements for an interview between them. The vizier 
still endeavored to prevent the interview by requiring some hu- 
miliating ceremonies to be performed by the father. But 
Bokarra Khan submif-ted to them all. After performing all that 
was required of him, and bowing several times to his son who 
took no notice of him, the aged father burst into tears. The 
emperor seeing this, could no longer suppress his emotions, but 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 71 

leaving his throne hastened to meet his father, and the latter 
seeing his son approaching, rushed to meet him. They remained 
in each other's embraces, both weeping for some time. This 
sight produced a deep impression on the court, and all thoughts 
of war between the father and son were at end. Bokarra Khan 
remained at Delhi for some time. He was much affected in 
view of the habits, circumstances, and prospects of his son, but 
finding he could do nothing of any importance in reforming 
him or delivering him from the power of the vizier, and learning 
that the state of affairs in his own province required his pres- 
ence, he returned to Bengal. 

Kei Kobad continued his course of debauchery till his consti- 
tution becoming impaired he had an attack of palsy. This un- 
expected illness aroused him to reflection, and on review- 
ing his course of profligacy he saw reason for being much dis- 
pleased with the vizier. He soon began to look upon the vizier 
as his greatest enemy, and he determined if possible to get 
rid of him. With this view he ordered him to proceed to the 
government of Multan. But the vizier, under various pretences, 
deferred leaving Delhi, and in the mean time he began to ply all 
his art at intrigue and treachery to remove Kei Kobad, and 
assume the supreme power himself. Some of the nobles, to 
whom he had become very odious, becoming acquainted with 
his plans, found means to remove him by poison, the not un- 
frequent end of an odious minister in oriental courts. 

As Kei Kobad, from the bad state of his health, could not 
be expected to survive long, several parties began to form plans 
for assuming the supreme power, and then dividing the offices 
of government among themselves. After awhile the party com- 
monly called the Khiljees gained the ascendency, not without 
much intrigue, treachery, and murder. Fearing they might lose 
the advantages they had thus secured, they resolved to put their 
chief upon the throne while they had the power to do it. 
So an assassin was employed to despatch Kei Kobad, and Je- 
lal ud Deen, the head chief of the Khiljee tribe, ascended the 
throne and commenced a new dynasty, called the House of 
Khiljee ; Kei Kobad was the last of the series of sovereigns 
called the Slave Emperors. They were ten in number and their 
average reign was a little more than 8 years each. Six of 



72 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

them were put to death, or were deposed and died in confine- 
ment. 

THE HOUSE OF KHILJEE, A.D. 1288-1421. 

Jelal ud Deen, of the tribe of Khiljee, was 70 years old when 
he assumed the imperial power. He had taken the leading part 
in the revolution which raised him to the supreme power. The 
late emperor was assassinated by his orders, and yet he affected 
great reluctance to fill the throne. The courtiers and people 
gave him but little credit for sincerity in these pretensions, as he 
kept the son of the late emperor in prison and put him to death 
as soon as he dared to do it. Some historians, however, deny 
his agency in this murder. Be this as it may, when he felt that 
his power was well established he became lenient in his proceed- 
ings, not only pardoning offences against himself but transgres- 
sions of the laws of the empire. He exhibited this disposition 
so far that people lost their respect for the laws, and aU fear of 
his displeasure. Governors refused to pay their tribute, and 
neglected to enforce his laws in their provinces. When some 
of his ministers remonstrated with him for showing so much for- 
bearance and advised him to follow the example of Bulbnn, he 
rephed that he could not live long and wished to die in peace. 
Yet when a large Mogul army * invaded his dominions he acted 
with great vigor, proceeding against them with his army and 
defeating them in a severe battle. 

The most remarkable event in this reign was the execution 
of a celebrated dervish called Syud Molah. He had travelled 
over several countries and acquired a high reputation for piety 
before coming to India. He soon acquhed great respect at 
Delhi, and expended so much money in charity that people aU 
beheved he had the power of transmuting other metals into gold. 
He gathered around him a great number of disciples by whom 
he was held in the highest estimation. Among these was Cazee 
Jelal ud Deen, an intriguing and ambitious man, who acquired 
much influence with Syud Molah. The Cazee persuaded the 
dervish that his disciples aU believed God had sent him to Delhi 

* Fcrislita says that this army contained " ten tomans ; " a toman consisted 
of 10,000 men. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 73 

to reform the people, to restore order in the kingdom, and propa- 
gate the religion of Mohammed, and that they were prepared to 
support him in any measures to accomplish the great ends of 
his mission. Whether the dervish was fanatical and ambitious 
enough to believe this or not, yet two men were hired to join 
the emperor's retinue as he was going to the mosque on Friday, 
and to assassinate him. Tl^e disciples were then to proclaim 
the dervish to be emperor. But one of the disciples not satis- 
fied with the office assigned to him in the contemplated govern- 
ment, went to the emperor, and disclosed the whole plan. The 
emperor ordered the dervish Syud Molah and Cazee Jelal ud 
Deen to be seized and brought before him. As they denied aU 
knowledge of any such plan, he ordered a great fire to be pre- 
pared that they might be put to the trial of ordeal. The emper- 
or and all his court went to see the trial. The dervish, the 
cazee, and the two assassins were then brought that they might 
walk through the fire and prove their innocence by coming out 
unhurt. When they had said their prayers and were just ready 
to go into the fire, the emperor ordered them to stop, and turn- 
ing to his court he said, " the nature of fire is to burn, paying 
no respect to the righteous more than to the wicked. Besides, 
it is contrary to the Mohammedan law to practise this heathen- 
ish superstition." The emperor then ordered the caze6 to Bu- 
dayoon, the dervish to be kept in chains in a vault under the 
throne, and the two assassins to be put to death. As the dervish 
was being carried through the court, the emperor said to the 
Calenders, a class of religious mendicants, " behold the man 
who devised such evil against us. I leave him to you to be 
judged according to his deserts," and then proceeded to his pal- 
ace. The court and aU the multitude -understood that the 
dervish was delivered up to them to do with him as they 
pleased. Neither the court nor the multitude were in a state of 
mind to show him mercy, and he was soon trampled to death 
by an elephant, a mode of execution often practised by the 
former governments in India. Many believed the dervish to be 
innocent, and that the accusation against him originated in envy. 
He protested his innocence to the last, and his last words to the 
emperor were, " be assured that my curse will lie heavy upon 
you and your posterity." Just as the dervish was put to death, 

7 



74 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

" a black whirlwind arose which for the space of half an hour, 
changed day into night. No rain fell at Delhi that year, and a 
dreadful famine followed in which thousands perished of starva- 
tion. The emperor's oldest son became insane, the emperor 
himself died by the hands of assassins, and his family were 
excluded from the throne." These phenomena and calamities 
were regarded by the superstitious as evidence of the innocency 
of the dervish, and of the guilt of the emperor in putting him 
to death. 

Li the latter part of this reign, Alia ud Deen, a nephew of the 
emperor and one of the most remarkable men in the history of 
India, began to acqune notoriety. When governor of Kurrah 
he undertook to suppress some insurrections in the provinces 
south of Delhi. In this expedition he defeated the insurgents, 
took several forts, plundered the country, and obtained so much 
booty that he was able to send some of it to the emperor, and 
to increase his own army. The emperor was so much pleased 
with Alia ud Deen's success in this enterprise that he gave him 
large presents, and increased his government by annexing the 
province of Oude to Kurrah. Alia ud Deen having conciliated 
the good-wiU of the emperor and brought his own army into an 
efficient state, informed him that there were some Hindu princes 
of great wealth in the country south of Delhi, and if he could 
have permission he would reduce them to obedience, add their 
dominions to the empire, and send the wealth he might obtain 
from them to the royal treasury. The emperor was pleased 
with the proposal and assented to Alia ud Deen's undertaldng 
the expedition, not expecting he would go beyond the valley of 
the Nerbudda. Alia ud Deen had a force of 8,000 chosen horse, 
and he resolved to invade the Deckan, which had hitherto 
remained undisturbed by the Mohammedans. He proceeded 
on his way by rapid marches to Ellichpoor, where he made a 
short stop to refresh his army. The better to conceal his pur- 
pose he gave out that he had left his uncle, the emperor, in dis- 
gust, and was going to offer his services to the Raja of Telingana. 
He left EUichpoor in the night, and changing his course in two 
days reached Deoghur, the object of his expedition. This city 
(the modern Dowlutabad) was the capital of Ramdev, who was 
generally regarded by the Mohammedans as the sovereign of aU 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 75 

the Deckan, though he was only the Raja of Maharashtra or of 
the Mahrattas. The arrival of Alia ud Deen was quite unex- 
pected. The Raja was in the city but his wife and son had 
gone to a temple in the neighborhood. He collected what force 
he could and resisted AJla ud Deen's entrance into the city, but 
was defeated and compelled to retreat into the citadel. Alia ud 
Deen took possession of the city, plundered the inhabitants and 
tortured the merchants and bankers to make them disclose 
their treasures. He then gave out that he was only the vanguard 
of the imperial grand army, which would arrive soon. This 
declaration produced great consternation among all the Hindu 
princes of the Deckan. The Raja expecting a greater force 
would arrive, and having only a small quantity of provisions, 
was anxious to come to some terms. Negotiations were com- 
menced and an agreement was nearly completed when the 
Raja's son arrived with a large army. Contrary to the advice 
of his father, he attacked Alia ud Deen but was defeated. Alia 
ud Deen now raised his demands. As the Raja was expecting 
large reinforcements would soon come to his relief, he hesitated 
awhile, but on learning that the provisions in the fort were 
nearly exhausted he agreed to pay a great sum of money,* 
jewels, etc., and also to cede the province of Ellichpoor to the 
empu-e of Delhi. Alia ud Deen having received the money, 
etc., raised the siege and commenced his return to Delhi, on the 
25th day after taking the city. This expedition of Alia ud 
Deen, in which he marched 700 miles, the greater part of it 
through an unknown and unexplored country, attacked a pow- 
erful monarch, defeated his army, plundered his capital, obtained 
by treaty an immense amount of treasure and a cession of ter- 
ritory, and then returned in safety, evinced military talents of the 
highest order, though, in the language of the historian, " we 
can not but lament that a man formed for such great exploits, 
should not be actuated by better motives thah rapine, violence, 
and a thu-st of gain." 

Alia ud Deen went on this expedition into the Deckan, with- 
out obtaining the consent of the emperor, and as nothing was 

* This amount is thus stated by Ferlshta: — " 15,000 lbs. of pure gold, 175 
lbs. of pearls, 50 lbs. of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires ; 25,000 lbs. 
of silver, 4,000 pieces of silk, and a long list of other precious commodities." 



76 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

heard from him for considerable time, the emperor became very 
anxious. But when he heard that his nephew had conquered 
Deoghur and was on his return with a vast amount of treasure, 
he was much pleased and appeared to think only of seeing it 
all soon in the royal treasury. But some of his fi:iends, who 
were well acquainted with AHa ud Deen, intimated that this 
daring and unauthorized invasion of the Deckan and the re- 
nown and plunder there acquhed, might be only part of a plan 
not yet fully revealed. The emperor was at this time near 
GwaHor with his retinue. Not fuUy satisj&ed in respect to AUa 
ud Deen, the emperor assembled his council and inquired of 
them whether it was best to march to meet him, or to wait his 
arrival where they were, or return to Delhi. There was much 
difference of opinion in the council in respect to the best course 
to be pursued, and it was finally resolved to return to Delhi. 
Soon after the emperor reached Delhi a messenger brought him 
a letter from Alia ud Deen in which he acknowledged himself 
to be the servant of the emperor, that all the wealth he had 
acquhed in his expedition into the Deckan was intended for the 
royal treasury, that wearied by then- long journey, he wished to 
rest a few days at Kurrah, that he intended then to come and 
kiss the footstool of the royal throne, but as some enemies had 
made insinuations against him and his chiefs in then* absence, 
they therefore requested a letter of grace from the emperor, 
assm-ing them of the royal favor and protection. The emperor 
was much rejoiced on receiving this letter. His suspicions 
were at once removed, and he ordered a letter full of assurances 
of kindness and good-will to be returned. In the mean time Alia 
ud Deen caused reports to be spread by emissaries in different 
places that the emperor was intending to put him to death for 
going on his expedition into the Deckan without the royal sanc- 
tion, that he was extremely sorry for having incurred his majesty's 
displeasure, and thkt his grief had been insupportable. Letters 
to this effect were sent to his brother who was at court and 
showed them to the emperor, and all possible means were used 
to induce him to proceed to Kurrah to meet his humbled, peni- 
tent, affectionate, and half-distracted nephew. At length the 
emperor, anxious to secure the treasure brought from the Deckan 
as well as to see his nephew, left Delhi with a small retinue 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 77 

to meet him. On arriving at Kurrah, Alia ud Deen received the 
emperor with the greatest respect and affection, in the midst of 
which some assassins whom he had hired and placed near, upon 
a concerted signal rushing upon the emperor instantly killed 
him and then put to death all his attendants. His head was 
stuck upon a spear, and carried through the city and the camp. 
Efis reign had somewhat exceeded 7 years. He acted a leading 
part in the insurrection and revolution which raised him to the 
throne, and the then reigning emperor was assassinated by his 
orders. And after a reign of a few years he was removed in a 
similar manner, to make way for his ungrateful, cruel, and per- 
fidious nephew. 

AUa ud Deen at once assumed the imperial dignity, invested 
himself with aU the insignia of royalty, and caused himself to be 
proclaimed emperor. He increased his army, conferred titles 
and rewards upon his friends, and hberally distributed the 
treasure he had acquired in the Deckan. Wherever he en- 
camped he used to scatter among the multitude or throw to a 
distance pieces of gold to be scrambled for. By such means he 
endeavored to acquire notoriety and popularity. 

The late emperor's widow at Delhi on hearing of his death 
caused her youngest son Ruckun ud Deen to be placed upon 
the throne, and endeavored to unite the family interest in his 
support. Alia ud Deen felt it was important to establish his 
power in the capital, and hastened to Delhi. Ruckun ud 
Deen, unable to meet his enemies in the field, fled with his 
friends and what treasures they could carry to Multan, where 
his older brother was governor. The inhabitants of Delhi, 
after their departure, regarding the cause of Alia ud Deen 
as now triumphant, joined him. He entered the city in triumph, 
ascended the throne, and ordered the current money to be 
struck in his name. He exhibited shows, made grand festivals, 
and by such means acquired popularity and praise among the 
fickle and inconsiderate multitude. The people of Delhi appear 
to have cared Kttle who was emperor or by what means the 
power and dignity were acquired.* One of Alia ud Deen's first 

* FerisTita says : — " He [the emperor] who ought to have been hooted with 
detestation, became the object of admiration to those who could not see the 
darkness of his deeds through the splendor of his magnificence." 

7 * 



78 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

measures was to get rid of all who could prefer any claim to 
the throne, and so to prevent any future disturbance from the 
late emperor's family. With this view he despatched a large 
army to Multan where two of the sons and many friends had 
taken refuge. After a siege of two months Multan surrendered, 
the sons and friends of the late emperor were taken prisoners, 
their eyes were put out, and soon afterwards they were put to 
death. All the ladies in the late emperor's harem and all his 
other children were also killed. But the emperor soon found 
there was danger from another source. News reached him that 
a large Mogul army had invaded his dominions, and "were 
carrying every thing before them with fire and sword." Alif 
Khan, thje emperor's brother, and Zafar Khan were ordered to 
proceed against them with a large force. The armies encoun- 
tered each other near Lahore, and the Moguls were defeated with 
the loss of 12,000 men and many of their chiefs. The Raja of 
Gujerat not having sent any tribute to Delhi for several years, 
the emperor sent his army to chastise him and enforce payment. 
" They laid waste the country with fire and sword, and having 
appointed rulers over the provinces, they returned to Delhi with 
prodigious treasure." 

The Moguls though defeated and driven back, yet after t^vo 
years again invaded India in greater force than ever. " Their 
army consisted of 200,000 horse, and they promised to them- 
selves the entire conquest of Hindustan." There was no force 
in the provinces they invaded which was able to meet them in 
the field, and so they proceeded towards Delhi without opposi- 
tion. On their approach the people of the country rushed into 
the city, and as no supplies could be procured, a dreadful fam- 
ine soon commenced its ravages. In these circumstances the 
emperor called a council of his generals, and prepared his plan 
for attacking the Moguls. Ferishta says " the army which the 
emperor brought into the field consisted of 300,000 horse, 2,700 
elephants, and foot without number," and that in the history of 
India no battle had taken place between two such armies, both 
commanded by generals of great ability and experience. The 
battle was very severe and the victory obstinately contested. 
But the Moguls were defeated, and their Prince, Kulugh Khan, 
collecting his shattered army, retreated tiU he crossed the Indus. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 79 

In A.D. 1306, Alia ud Deen sent a large force into the Deckan 
under Cafoor, to chastise Ramdev, who had neglected to send 
the annual tribute, and to extend his conquests. Ramdev 
submitted in time to preserve his kingdom. Cafoor then 
proceeded into TeUngana, where he committed great ravages, 
took and plundered Warangole, the capital, and then compelled 
the Raja to pay a great sum of money and an annual tribute. 
The expeditions into the Deckan were found to be so successful 
and profitable that in a few years Cafoor was again sent there 
with a large army. At this time he penetrated into the king- 
dom of Canara, defeated Raja Bullal Dev and took him pris- 
oner. Cafoor then plundered the capital and all the towns and 
temples he could find. If we are to believe the Mohammedan 
historians (and there are no others) who give the weight of the 
gold, the value of the plunder obtained in this expedition 
amounted to nearly $500,000,000. Even the common soldiers 
were so burdened with spoils that they could only carry the 
gold, leaving the silver behind them. 

AUa ud Deen died in a.d. 1316, having reigned somewhat 
more than 20 years. He possessed great military talents, and the 
empne was greatly enlarged by his conquests. He acquired the 
throne by a course of intrigue, treachery, and violence, and his 
whole reign was a continuation of actions of a similar charac- 
ter. The Moguls invaded the empire several times during his 
reign. Some of these invasions were for plunder, but others 
were made with an intention to conquer the country, and then 
to keep possession of it. In two or three instances they reached 
Delhi, but Alia ud Deen succeeded in frustrating their purpose 
and driving them out of the country. Insurrections occasioned 
by his cruelty or the oppression of his governors, were fre- 
quently made in different parts of the empire. His first expedi- 
tion into the Deckan and those subsequently made by his 
generals, appear to have been made more for the sake of ac- 
quiring plunder than for conquest. All his wars, whether repel- 
ling invasions, or suppressing insurrections, or for acquiring plun- 
der, or for enlarging his dominions, were conducted with great 
barbarity and shocking cruelty. At one time and for no obvious 
cause, he ordered that aU the Moguls or Persians in Ms employ- 
ment should be dismissed. They were soon reduced to great 



80 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

distress, and some of tliem being detected in a conspiracy, he 
ordered them all, amounting to 15,000, to be massacred, and 
their families to be sold into slavery. He cared little or nothing 
about the Mohammedan rehgion, and it does not appear that 
he or his generals ever exhibited any zeal for its propagation, as 
a reason or motive for then* conquests. Among the strange pro- 
jects he at different times had in view, one was the formation 
and propagation of a new system of religion. He consulted 
his learned men on the subject and told them he would form a 
better system than Mohammedanism or any religion in the 
world. At one time he proposed to appoint a viceroy over the 
empire, and taking his army avow his purpose to conquer the 
whole world. He was so Uhterate when he began his reign that 
he could neither write nor read, but he applied himself so assid- 
uously to study that he was soon able to read and answer all 
communications addressed to him. From this time he encour- 
aged learning, and several learned men were supported at his 
court. A consph'acy was once formed to dethrone him. He 
was attacked, cut down, and left for dead on the ground. The 
usurper proclaimed the emperor's death, ascended the throne, 
and ordered the usual ceremonies of inauguration to be per- 
formed. In the mean time Alia ud Deen revived, hastened to 
his army, and assuming the command, caused the usurper to be 
arrested and put to death. Having assembled his council, he 
requested them to give then' opinions freely in respect to the 
causes of the unhappy state of the empire. One of the causes 
they mentioned, was intemperance. The emperor, who was 
intemperate himself, said he was satisfied this was one of the 
causes, and there should be a reform. " He published an edict 
against the use of wine and strong liquors upon pain of death. 
He himself set the example to his subjects, and emptied all the 
wine in his cellars into the street. In this course he was fol- 
lowed by all ranks of people, so that for some days the common 
sewers in Delhi flowed with wine." To prevent property and 
power from being accumulated in a few famUies, he issued 
orders that no marriage should take place among the nobihty 
without a license from him. He also limited by law the quan- 
tity of land which any farmer could own, and the number of 
cattle which graziers could keep. He also attempted to enforce 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 81 

other impracticable laws, as fixed prices of grain and other 
commodities, the hours of labor for servants, etc. 

The great amount of booty and treasm*e brought from 
plundered kingdoms and oppressed provinces to Delhi and 
there distributed and expended, gave to the city the appearance 
of great wealth and prosperity. " Palaces, mosques, universities, 
baths, forts, and all manner of public and private buildings 
seemed to rise as by the power of enchantment, neither did 
there in any age appear a greater concourse of learned men 
from all parts of the world ; 45 men skilled in the sciences were 
professors in the University. There were distinguished profes- 
sors and teachers in poetry, philosophy, medicine, divinity, 
astrology, music, morality, languages, and in all the fine arts 
then known in the world." * 

* So says Ferislata. One -would think It must have been as difficult to teach 
the precepts and principles of some of these sciences under the laws of the empire, 
and under the patronage of Alia ud Deen, as It now Is to be a professor or teacher 
In some of the universities under the present despotic governments of Europe. 

The following extract shows the character of the Sultan and of his learned 
men. It also shows the Mohammedan principles of government and the prac- 
tice of the Sultan : — 

" The Sultan one day said to Cazee Mogees ud Deen that he wished to know 
the law in some matters concerning the duty of sovereigns. As the Sultan had 
always shown a contempt for the cazees, and called them hypocrites and vil- 
lains, ready to give any opinions to please those who would reward them, the 
cazee was much alarmed and replied, ' I fear from what your Majesty has 
requested that my last hour is come ; If so and it be your Majesty's wHl, I am 
ready to die ; and it wIR only be unnecessarily Increasing my crime, if I must be 
punished for speaking the truth according to the word of God ! ' The Sultan 
inquired why he was so much agitated, and he replied, ' If I speak the truth 
and your Majesty Is offended, It may cost me my life, and if I speak what Is 
false and your Majesty should ascertain the truth, I may then be put to death 
for deceiving you.' The Sultan replied that he need not fear to answer his in- 
quiries according to the clear and strict laws of the Koran. The Sultan then 
proposed several inquiries, of which the first was : — 

" ' From what class of Hindus Is It lawful to exact obedience and tribute ? ' 
To which the cazee replied : — 'It Is lawful to exact obedience and tribute 
from all infidels, and they can only be considered as obedient who pay the poll- 
tax without demurring even should It be obtained by force ; for according to the 
law of the Prophet it is written regarding Infidels, " tax them to the extent they 
can pay, or utterly destroy them." The learned of the faith have also enjoined 
the followers of Islam to slay them or to convert them to the faith, a maxim 
conveyed In the words of the Prophet himself. The Imam Huneef, however. 



82 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In the latter part of his reign Alia ud Deen was in feeble 
health, and excessively irritable and jealous. He was chiefly 
under the influence of Malik Cafoor, a talented but very 
depraved man. Cafoor's plan was to remove as fast as possible 
every obstacle in the way of ascending the throne himself. By 
exciting the suspicions of the emperor he succeeded in persuad- 
ing him to throw his two eldest sons and their mother into 
prison. He caused several men who were high in authority, 
and whose power and influence he had reason to dread, to be 
put to death. And it was generally believed that the emperor's 
death was hastened by poison given him by the same treacher- 
ous hand. 

The day after the death of Alia ud Deen, Malik Cafoor 
assembled the nobles and produced a pretended will of the late 
emperor, by which his youngest son, only 7 years of age, 
was appointed his successor, and Cafoor was to be regent tiU the 
son should be of age. This son was then put upon the tlu:one 
and Cafoor commenced his regency. One of his first acts was 
to put out the eyes of the late emperor's two oldest sons. He 
then caused the third son to be seized, and issued orders to put 
him to death. His conduct in these matters greatly shocked 
some of the nobles, and he soon met the fate he was so assidu- 
ously preparing for others. Mubarick, the third son, was then 
set at liberty and assumed the government for his brother, the 
young emperor. Li a few months he found means to seize his 
brother, and having put out his eyes and sent him to Gwahor to 
be confined for life, he ascended the throne himself. One of his 
first acts after assuming the supreme power was to put those to 
death who had saved his life and elevated him to the throne. 
He invested some of his slaves with the highest offices in the 
government. He ordered all the prisoners in the jails and forts 

subsequently considers, that the poll-tax or as heavy a tribute imposed upon 
them as they can bear, may be substituted for death, and he has accordingly 
forbidden that their blood be unnecessarily shed. So that it is commanded 
that the poll-tax and tribute should be exacted to the utmost farthing from them 
in order that the punishment may approximate as nearly as possible to death.' 
The Sultan smiling, remarked, ' You may perceive that without any aid from 
your learned books or consulting any cazee, I have always been practising of 
my own accord the principles of the Prophet.'" — Gleig, Vol. Lp. 128-131. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 83 

without any inquiry into their guilt or innocence, amounting 
to 17,000, to be set at liberty. His reign was little else than 
one continued series of outrages upon decency, justice, and 
moraKty. Much of the time he was in a state of intoxication, 
and his deKght was in low and disgusting revelry and debauch- 
ery. In suppressing insurrections the most monstrous barbarity 
and cruelty were used in massacres and tortures. His brothers 
who had been previously blinded, were put to death without 
having given, so far as was known, any occasion for suspicion. 
All respectable people withdrew from the emperor and his court 
for their own preservation, as well as from disgust of the vices 
there practised. At length Khusru, one of the emperor's 
favorites, more depraved if possible than his master, formed a 
conspiracy to assassinate him and assume the government. In 
this plan he was successful, but soon after he ascended the 
throne another conspiracy was formed among the nobles, who 
associated to save the throne from further disgrace and the em- 
pire from total ruin. The usurper Khusru was defeated and put 
to death. On inquiry it was found that no member of the royal 
family was living — aU had been put to death. The House of 
KhUjee had become extinct. In 33 years, 5 emperors had ascended 
the throne, and all had perished by assassination or poison. 

THE HOUSE OF TOGHLUCK, A.D. 1321-1412. 

Ghazi Khan was head of the conspiracy which deposed 
Khusru. "When he entered Delhi he made a proclamation that 
he had engaged in the revolution for the good of the empire; 
that if any of the royal family remained, they should be brought 
forward and put upon the throne ; and that if none remained, the 
people might elect any emperor they pleased, and he would 
abide by their choice. As none of the royal family remained, 
the nobles and magistrates presented him the keys of the city, 
and proclaimed him to be emperor. He assumed the name of 
Ghias ud Deen, though he is probably better known by the 
name of Toghluck and Toghluck Shah. The state of the empire 
required an able and energetic emperor, and such Ghias ud 
Deen soon showed he was. He reformed the internal adminis- 
tration, and placed a strong force on the north-western frontier, 



84 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

where the empire was threatened by an invasion fr.om the 
Moguls. The affairs of the Deckan having fallen into disorder, 
he sent his son, Jonah Khan, there with a large force. Jonah 
Khan laid siege to Warangole, the capital of Telingana. The 
siege was protracted, and the hot season having commenced, 
great sickness prevailed in the Mohammedan army. In the 
mean time reports being circulated of a revolution at Delhi, the 
army became discouraged and it became necessary to raise the 
siege. "When retreating towards Deoghur, Jonah Khan was 
pursued with great slaughter by the Hindus, and when he 
reached Delhi only 3,000 of his whole army remained. He 
agam assembled a large force and proceeded into the Deckan. 
On his way to Warangole he besieged and took Beder. He 
then laid siege to Warangole and soon got possession of the 
city. The Raja and his family were made prisoners and car- 
ried to Delhi. The emperor having received many complaints 
of disturbance and oppression in the provinces of Bengal, 
appointed Jonah Khan his deputy in Delhi, and proceeded 
himself with a large army to Lucknow and Tnhoot, where he 
was occupied for some time in restoring order. On his return 
to Delhi, his son entertained him In a large pavilion built of 
wood and hastily erected for the purpose. When the entertain- 
ment was over and just as the emperor was leaving the place, 
the roof over him fell and killed him. By some persons his 
death was believed to be accidental, but the more general and 
probable opinion was that the pavilion had been erected and 
every part of it prepared to fall upon the emperor in the manner 
his death took place. His reign somewhat exceeded four 
years. The expectations formed concerning him when he 
ascended the throne were fully realized. He was among the 
best sovereigns of Delhi. 

Jonah Khan immediately after his father's death assumed the 
supreme power and took the name of Mohammed, sometimes 
called Mohammed Toghluck. He commenced his reign with 
great liberality and magnificence. The streets were strewed 
with flowers, the houses were all ornamented, music was every- 
where played, large presents were given to the nobles, and hand- 
fuls of gold and silver were scattered among the multitude. 
He was careful in observing the hours for worship, and ordered 



HISTOET — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 85 

prayers to be read in all the mosques five times every day. 
Unlike his predecessors generally, he abstained from wine. He 
had been weU educated in Persian and Arabic literature. He 
encouraged learning and gave salaries to learned men at his 
court. His actions, acquiiements, and personal quahties were 
such as secured great respect, and gave his subjects the hope 
of a long and happy reign. 

But it was not long before he began to exhibit a different 
character, and the prospect of his reign became dark and 
gloomy. A large Mogul force invaded the empire, and instead 
of repelling them, he gave them an enormous sum of money to 
leave the country, thus inviting them to return soon for the 
same purpose. He collected a vast army (Ferishta says 370,- 
000) with the avowed purpose of conquering Persia. As he 
had not means to support them, they soon scattered over the 
empire, seizing whatever they required. Having heard of the 
wealth of China, he sent his nephew with an army of 100,000 
men to conquer and plunder that country. The army was urged 
forward over mountains, rivers, and forests, suffering much from 
disease and want till they met a Chinese army. Here they 
encountered so many difficulties that nearly all the army per- 
ished, only a few returning to relate their disasters and their 
sufferings. He next resolved upon another way for relieving his 
wants. He caused some copper coins to be struck with his 
name upon them, and issued a decree that all such should pass 
for silver. In this way his debts were easily paid, but as these 
same coins were taken in payment for revenue, his financial 
difficulties were not diminished, while such measures destroyed 
all confidence in the credit of the government and caused con- 
fusion and bankruptcy among all classes, so that he was com- 
pelled to annul his decree and restore the former currency. At 
one time when his army had surrounded a large district in the 
manner of a grand hunt in India, he gave orders that the circle 
should close towards the centre, and that they should Idll every 
human being found in it. Tliis horrid barbarity was more than 
once repeated, and in one such instance, " there was a general 
massacre of the inhabitants of the great city of Kanouj." No 
wonder " the miseries of the country exceeded all power of 
description." 

8 



86 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Among all this emperor's mad projects none probably caused 
more misery than his attempt to change the capital of his em- 
pire from Delhi to Deoghm-, which he called Dowlutabad,* the 
name by which it is still known. When he proposed in his coun- 
cil that the capital of his empire should be changed to Deoghm*, 
they recommended Oujein, as more centrally situated, but he 
was inflexible. So he issued orders that the inhabitants, men, 
women, and children, with all their effects and living creatures, 
should migrate to Dowlutabad, a distance of more than 700 
miles. Dellii was left almost desolate. He took up his resi- 
dence at Dowlutabad for 2 or 3 years, and then retm-ned to 
Delhi, giving permission to the inhabitants to do the same. But 
so many perished from suffering, sickness, and famine, that but 
few of those who had removed from Delhi reached the city on 
their return. 

In such a reign, insurrections, conspiracies, and revolts might 
naturally be expected. And such there were. Insurrections 
were suppressed, but not without much destruction of life, the 
plundering of cities, and the desolation of provinces. Conspira- 
cies were detected and their object defeated, but not without the 
ruin of many individuals and their families. The governor of 
Bengal revolted and asserted his independence. The country 
on the Coromandel Coast followed the same example. The 
Rajas of Telingana and Carnata combined to recover then- inde- 
pendence, and succeeded in expelling the Mohammedan armies 
and garrisons from their dominions. The emperor died at 

* This city, now in ruins, is 8 miles from Aurungabad. The writer visited the 
ruins in 1834. The following is an extract from his private joui-nal : — " The 
fort consists of an isolated mountain of a semi-oval shape, about 500 feet high. 
One third of the way from the base to the top the hill is scarped aU around, 
and presents on every side a perpendicular cliff of about 150 feet high. At the 
base of this cliff, is a wide and deep ditch, excavated in the solid rock, and ex- 
tending round all the circuit of the hill, which is not included in the walls of 
the city. The only way of ascending the hill is by a long, dark, and wind- 
ing way from the city, and excavated through the rock. The entrance of 
this way is near the base of the mountain, and is surrounded by towers and 
walls for its defence. The fort, or mountain above the cliff, has cisterns for 
water, magazines for provisions, military stores, cannon, etc. The mountain is 
a mass of natural rock, and the labor of reducing it to its present shape must 
have been incalculable. Tliis fort was formerly regarded as impregnable." 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 87 

Tatta in Scinde, where he had proceeded to suppress an insur- 
rection, in A.D. 1351, having reigned for 27 years. Of his charac- 
ter, one historian says, " he left the reputation of one of the 
most accomplished princes and most furious tyrants that ever 
adorned or disgraced human nature." Another says, "he ap- 
pears to have labored with no contemptible abihties to be 
detested by God, and to be feared and abhorred by all men." 
Another speaks of his death as " delivering India from the 
dreadful scourge of his government." And another says, " he 
left a reputation as httle to be envied as that of any sovereign 
who ever reigned in India." 

Mohammed Toghluck having no son, recommended his 
nephew, Feroze Toghluck (sometimes called Feroze Shah), to 
his nobles to be made his successor. The army, soon after the 
death of the emperor, fell into much disorder. A plan was 
formed to seize the treasure, and a part of it was carried away 
by the Mogul mercenaries. In this perilous state of affairs the 
nobles united in requesting Feroze Toghluck immediately to as- 
sume the supreme power. To this request he assented, and 
was proclaimed emperor. He was then at Tatta in Scinde. 
Having settled the affairs of that province, he proceeded to Uch, 
where he heard that another person had been set up for emperor 
at Delhi. He entered into amicable negotiation with the party, 
and they submitted to Mohammed Toghluck, when he pro- 
ceeded to Delhi and ascended the throne without any further 
opposition. The empire was in a state of great disorder, and 
the people were groaning under injustice and oppression. 

To these evils he appKed a steady and vigorous hand. " He 
limited the number of capital punishments, and put a stop to 
the use of torture and the practice of mutilation, which last 
prohibition was the more meritorious, as it was at variance with 
the Mohammedan laws. He abolished a great number of vex- 
atious taxes and fees, put an end to all fluctuating and precari- 
ous imposts, and fixed the revenues in such a manner as to 
leave as little discretion as possible to the collectors, and to 
give precision and pubHcity to the demands of the State." * 
Such reforms display great energy and judgment. They were 
received with gratitude, and gave great satisfaction. 

* Elphinstone, p. 357. 



88 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Scinde, Gujerat, and some other provinces were in a state of 
insurrection when he ascended the throne. In such places the 
authority of the emperor was soon established, and ^\dth less 
cruelty and barbarity than in previous reigns. Bengal, which 
revolted under a Mohammedan governor, and the Deckan, in 
which the Rajas of Telingana and Carnata united and expelled 
the Mohammedan garrisons in the preceding reign, continued 
to be nearly independent. They sent embassies with tribute or 
presents, thus acknowledging the superiority of the emperor, 
and were then permitted to manage their own affairs as they 
pleased. In the latter part of his reign the emperor made an 
expedition into Bengal. The reasons for this do not appear, as 
he did not subdue the country. Ferishta says, " About this 
time an embassy arrived with presents and new conditions of 
peace from Bengal, which the Sultan accepted, and soon after 
ratified the treaty. Bengal now became in a great measure in- 
dependent of the empire, paying only a small acknowledgment 
annually by way of presents.* He exacted no other terms of 
the Deckan, so that these two great members were now kept 
from the government of Delhi." 

The government of Mohammed Toghluck exhibited a striking 
contrast with that of his predecessors in some other respects. 
Instead of lavishing the revenues of the empire upon depraved 
and worthless favorites, he expended them upon public works 
of various kinds. Of these the following are enumerated: — 
50 canals to promote agriculture by irrigation ; 40 mosques ; 30 
colleges ; 100 caravansarais ; 30 reservoirs for irrigation ; 100 
hospitals ; 100 public baths, and 150 bridges. For the perma- 
nent support of these he made assignments of land. If some of 
these should be the estimated number of the works of Ms reign, 
yet the ruins of the works, which were executed by this emperor 
and remain to the present time, show a zeal for the public good, 
a spirit of enterprise and an expenditm-e of revenue, which few 
sovereigns of any age or country ever exhibited. And these 
pubhc works were made by a Mohammedan emperor in India 
nearly five centmies ago. 

* "In the year 759, (a.b. 1353,) the Sultan of Bengal sent a number of ele- 
phants and other rich presents to Delhi, which were amply repaid in Arabian 
and Persian horses, jewels, and other rich curiosities." 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 89 

Having reached the age of 87, Mohammed Toghluck's infirm- 
ities made him incapable of the requisite attention to the affairs 
of government, and the administration gradually fell into the 
hands of the vizier. This depraved man resolved to use his 
influence with the emperor and the power of his office with the 
army, in removing the oldest son, the heir apparent, so as to 
succeed the emperor at his death. The emperor and his son on 
becoming acquamted with the conspiracy, made an attempt to 
seize the vizier, but he escaped from Delhi. Mohammed Togh- 
luck immediately resigned the government in favor of his son, 
who was proclaimed emperor by the title of Mohammed Shah. 
The new emperor soon showed himself to be unfit for admin- 
istering the government. He dismissed some of the most 
approved public servants, and filled their places with depraved 
and worthless favorites. He neglected pubhc affairs, and spent 
his time in revelry and debauchery. A conspiracy was formed 
for deposing him, and an insurrection ensued. In the struggle 
between the insurgents and the emperor and his party, " the city 
of Delhi became a horrid scene of slaughter and confusion. 
During the space of two days and two nights there was nothing 
but death in every street; friends and foes, victors and van- 
quished were jumbled together without any possibility of dis- 
tinction." On the third day the insurgents earned out the old 
emperor and set Mm down in the streets. The young emperor's 
party, supposing this was done by the order of the old emperor, 
flocked to him and the insurgents, when the young emperor 
seeing himself almost deserted, fled from the city to the moun- 
tains of Simone. Both parties while surrounding the old emper- 
or and in his presence, made peace with each other. A grand- 
son named Toghluck Shah was then put upon the throne, soon 
after which Mohammed Toghluck died at the age of 90 years. 
He had reigned 38 years, which was a longer time than the 
reign of any previous Mohammedan emperor of Delhi. 

Toghluck Shah was soon involved in quarrels with those who 
had raised him to the throne. He intrusted the affairs of the 
government to his ministers and servants, and spent his time 
in frivoKty and revelry. A conspiracy was formed against him 
and he was assassinated when he had reigned only five months. 

Abu Beckm- Toghluck, another grandson of Mohammed 



90 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

Toghluck, next succeeded to the throne. The man whom he 
appointed to be his vizier, was soon detected in a conspiracy to 
cut off the emperor and assume the supreme power. The 
emperor caused the vizier and many others connected with the 
conspiracy to be put to death. But though relieved from this 
enemy, he had to encounter another. Mohammed Shah who 
had fled from DelM to the mountains of Simone, collected a 
large force, and proclaiming himself to be the emperor, he pro- 
ceeded to Delhi. Abu Beckur defended his own claims to this 
dignity as well as he could, and the conflict was protracted for 
some time. At length the good fortune of Mohammed Shah 
prevailed. He ascended the throne. Abu Beckur fled and after- 
wards surrendered liimself and was kept a prisoner for life. But 
Mohammed Shah survived this triumph but a short time. After 
his decease his son, Humayoon Khan, was proclaimed emperor 
by the title of Secunder Shah, but he died in 45 days after 
ascending the throne. 

On the death of Secunder Shah there was much dissension 
among the nobles concerning the succession to the throne. At 
length it was determined that Mahmoud, a son of Mohammed 
Shah, should succeed, and though he was a child yet he was 
proclaimed emperor by the title of Mahmoud Shah. Some 
important changes were also made at the same time among 
the principal nobles. The youth of the emperor and the dis- 
sensions existing in the court encouraged revolt in the prov- 
inces. Muzzufler Khan, the governor of Gujerat, began to 
assert his independence. The governors of Malwa and Can- 
desh did the same. The vizier took up his residence at Juan- 
poor, assumed the title of King of the East, and began to act 
as an independent prince. A faction at Delhi set up another 
claimant to the tin-one, and civil war raged in the capital. It 
was when the empire presented this scene of anarchy and dis- 
traction, some provinces already independent, others in a state 
of insurrection, the central parts rent by faction, and the capital 
suffering all the miseries of a civil war, that reports came from 
the west, which were fitted to excite more alarm and anxiety 
than any thing wliich had occurred to India for several centmies. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 91 



TAMERLANE, A.D. 1398. 

Tamerlane was the son of a Mogul or Tartar chief in a vil- 
lage near Samarcand. From the death of Ghengis Khan the 
central parts of Asia had been the scene of frequent insurrec- 
tions and revolutions. In these scenes Tamerlane early en- 
gaged, and soon acquired a Mgh character for military talents. 
Having become the generally acknowledged sovereign of his 
native country, he made an attack upon Persia, which was soon 
added to his dominions. He extended his power over Mesopo- 
tamia, and drove the Caliph from his throne in Bagdad. He 
returned to Samarcand, and then with an immense army 
directed his course towards India. He overcame aU. difficulties, 
whether the natural obstacles of the road, or the resistance of 
the inhabitants, or the want of provisions for his immense army. 
He crossed the Indus near Attock, and directed his course to- 
wards Delhi, plundering the cities and massacring the people, 
or taking them prisoners on the way. When he was near Delhi 
he ordered that all the prisoners in the camp, who had been take«n 
since crossing the Indus and were over 15 years of age, should 
be put to death. Mohammedan historians say that the number 
massacred in obedience to this inhuman order amounted to 
100,000. K we allow this number to be somewhat exaggerated, 
still the number was no doubt very great, and the barbarity and 
cruelty thus manifested are shocldng. Mahmoud Shah marched 
out of the city with aU the force he could command, and offered 
battle. But they fled on the first attack from the troops of 
Tamerlane, who for many years had closed every battle with a 
victory. The conqueror pursued them till they entered the gates 
of Delhi. The emperor made no further effort at defence, but 
fled to Gujerat. The nobles and distinguished men of the city 
then proffered submission to Tamerlane, and he promised them 
that if they would pay him a certain specified contribution, he 
would spare the city and protect the inhabitants. He then 
ordered himself to be proclaimed emperor of India in all the 
mosques of the city. He placed guards at aU the gates that 
none might escape, and gave orders that the sum of money to 
be paid him, should be contributed according to the wealth and 



92 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

rank of the citizens. Complaints were soon made that some of 
the nobles and bankers refused to pay their portion, and he sent 
some troops into the city to assist the magistrates in making 
the collection. Tamerlane's troops had been accustomed to 
seize all they could get, and were unwilling to take only a 
part of the wealth of a city which they had been so long ex- 
pecting to plunder. Plundering, confusion, and uproar soon 
commenced, and no authority either of the Mogul officers then 
in the city, or of the magistrates, could restrain it. Tamerlane 
was then in his ca,mp, engaged in celebrating a grand festival 
for his success in having taken the city and been proclaimed 
emperor of India. And he continued this celebration for five 
days, whUe plundering and massacring raged in the city. Very 
many of the higher classes seeing how the women were ravished, 
and the men tortured to disclose their wealth which was all 
then seized, collected their families, killed then- wives and daugh- 
ters, set their houses on lire, and then seizing their weapons, 
and rushing into the streets in the spirit of desperation, fought 
till they were Idlled. The streets are said to have been filled 
with the slain, and a large part of the city was reduced to ashes. 
Tamerlane remained at Delhi 15 days, and then unexpectedly 
to all, he began his return towards Persia. The day before his 
departure, " he offered up praises to God in the mosques for his 
success." The money, jewels, and other valuable things which 
he and his army obtained in India and carried away with them, 
were very great. Great numbers of men and women were 
dragged into slavery. He greatly admired the mosques and 
palaces of Delhi, and he carried away with him many architects, 
masons, and sculptors, with the intention of erecting similar ed- 
ifices in Samarcand, his capital. On arriving at Panniput, he 
sent one of his generals to take Merut, but the force was not 
sufficient. Tamerlane then proceeded to Merut with aU his 
army. The city and fort were defended with great obstinacy. 
But the Moguls having fiUed the ditch, scaled the walls and 
" put every soul within to the sword." Tamerlane then contin- 
ued on his course towards his own country, " marking his way 
with ffi-e and sword, and leaving anarchy, famine, and pesti- 
lence behind him." There is nothing said of his investing any 
one with authority, or making arrangements for any regular 



HISTORY THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 93 

government in Delhi. He confirmed the governors who submit- 
ted to him in their respective provinces, and they engaged to 
govern in his name. These circumstances appear to indicate 
that he intended to return and assume the government, or send 
some one to govern in his name, but something unexpected pre- 
vented his doing so.* 

The city of Delhi remained in a state of anarchy for some 
months after Tamerlane's departure. When it was seen that 
he had left India, several different parties endeavored to assume 
and exercise the supreme government. Some of these at- 
tempted to govern in the name of Tamerlane, and others in 
their own name. The governors of the different provinces 
asserted their independence and called themselves kings, so that 
only a small district around Delhi continued attached to the city 
and subject to its power. In the course of half a century there 
were 7 different emperors or men who assumed the title in 
Delhi. There was nothing in their character or actions, or in 
the state of the districts acknowledging their authority, which 
appears to be deserving of consideration or being mentioned. 

Among the military chiefs at Delhi, who became conspicuous 
in this period of anarchy and misrule, was Beylol Lodi. The 
family had been military leaders of distinction for several 
generations. After long-continued intrigue and effort he be- 
came emperor in a.d. 1450. He was assisted in acquiring this 
dignity by the vizier of the preceding emperor, and as has often 
happened in oriental courts, his first exercise of this power was 
to remove him by whose aid he had acquired it. The early 
part of his reign 'was spent in struggling with factions and 
suppressing insurrections at Delhi. He was then engaged for 
many years in endeavoring to extend his power over some 
provinces, which had formerly belonged to the empire, but had 
become independent. In these wars he was generally success- 
ful, and at the close of his reign the kingdom of Delhi had 
become the most powerful of any in the northern part of India. 
His reign somewhat exceeded 38 years. 

Secunder Lodi, a son of the late emperor, succeeded him at 
Delhi. His brothers, who were governors of different provinces 
for some years before their father's death, refused to acknowl- 

*Elplunstone, p. 362. 



94 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

edge his superiority. Secunder's claim to be acknowledged 
emperor over aU the dominions of his father and his brothers' 
resistance to this claim, were the occasion of frequent conflicts 
and wars between them. In these wars Secunder was gener- 
ally successful, and the provinces which were subject to his 
father acknowledged his authority. He then extended the 
empire by annexing some provinces in Bahar and Bundelcund. 
He was very bigoted in his attachment to Mohammedanism, 
and destroyed many temples and idols in the cities and prov- 
inces recovered from the Hindus. He even forbid them to 
resort to some of their sacred places on pilgrimage. A brahmin, 
in reply to a Mohammedan who had abused him for his wor- 
shipping idols, said, " All rehgions, if practised with equal sin- 
cerity, are equally acceptable to God." For this opinion the 
brahmin was called before a council of the Moolahs, who decided 
that he must either become a Mohammedan or be put to death. 
The brahmin showed that he was sincere in his religion by 
suffering death rather than change his faith. This emperor for 
some reason removed his court to Agra, which in the latter part 
of his reign became the capital of the empire. He was much 
esteemed by the Mohammedan part of his subjects, and is 
reckoned among their best emperors. His reign somewhat 
exceeded 28 years. 

BABER, A.D. 1526. 

Ibrahim Lodi succeeded the late emperor his father. His 
haughty manners and imperious temper made him unpopular. 
Some insurrections soon occurred, and the parties concerned in 
them were treated with great barbarity. The governor of 
Lahore revolted, and fearing the fate of some who had been put 
to death, appHed to Baber, the Sultan of Cabul, for assistance. 
Baber, who had for some time been meditating the conquest 
of India, was glad to receive such an invitation. He soon 
appeared in India with his army, and as the conquest of the 
country was his object he proceeded towards Delhi. On arriv- 
ing at Panniput he was informed that the emperor was ap- 
proaching with an army of 100,000 men and 1,000 elephants. 
Baber's force, though much inferior in numbers, was yet greatly 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 95 

superior in discipline and valor. He had also himself great 
military talents and experience, and he possessed the entire con- 
fidence of his army. In the battle which decided the empire 
of India, the emperor's want of judgment was as conspicuous 
in his preparatory arrangements, as the want of discipline was 
in his army dm-ing the conflict and in the retreat. In this battle 
the emperor Ibrahim Lodi was killed, and his army was routed 
with great slaughter. Baber then proceeded forthwith to Delhi 
and Agra, and both cities surrendered without making any 
resistance. Though in possession of these imperial cities and 
proclaimed emperor, he was yet acknowledged by only a smaU 
part of what had formerly constituted the empire. The gover- 
nors of the provinces were in no haste to acknowledge their 
allegiance to the new emperor. Many in his army disliking the 
oppressive and enervating heat of the Indian climate, became 
anxious to return to Cabul. As the dissatisfaction and mur- 
muring on the subject increased, Baber assembled his officers in 
council and told them that having become the emperor of India, 
an object he had long had in view, he was determined to remain 
in the country, that aU who wished to return to Cabul had his 
permission to do so, but in future he would tolerate no more 
murmuring on the subject. A few of his officers returned to 
Cabul, but the greater part, seeing the emperor's determination, 
resolved to unite their fortunes with his, and so remained in 
India. When this determination became known, the governors 
of some of the provinces who had been expecting that Baber, 
like Tamerlane, would soon leave India, took the prudent 
course of acknowledging allegiance to him. His son Huma- 
yoon, was also successful in reducing some provinces to obedi- 
ence, so that in the course of a few months the empire included 
all the provinces which acknowledged allegiance to his prede- 
cessor. 

But Baber soon found himself surrounded with new difficul- 
ties. The Hajpoot princes uniting with some Mohammedan 
nobles of the same family or clan with the late emperor, formed 
a powerful combination against him. In the first conflict with 
this confederated army a part of Baber's force was defeated 
with heavy loss. His army and his officers were much affected 
with this unexpected result. A celebrated astrologer arriving 



96 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

at this time from Cabul, predicted from the position of the 
planet Mars the certain defeat of the army in the approaching 
campaign. Many of Baber's army now began to desert, the 
force of his enemies increased, and his officers and friends 
became disheartened. He contemplated his ckcumstances and 
prospects with much anxiety. He teUs us in his Memoirs that 
he repented of all his sins and implored pardon of God ; he sol- 
emnly resolved that he would drink no more wine, which he 
acknowledges he had sometimes used to excess, and he caused 
his drinldng vessels of gold and sUver to be melted up and dis- 
tributed in alms to the poor. He also made a vow to let his 
beard grow and remit the stamp-tax on aU Mohammedans, if it 
should please God to give him the victory over his enemies. 
He then assembled his officers in council, and described their 
past exploits, theij present dangers, and the glory which it was 
yet in then power to obtain. The assembly was greatly excited 
by this address ; * all proclaimed their determination to support 
him, and swore on the Koran to conquer or die. Seeing the 
army in this state, Baber resolved to prosecute the war with 
vigor. His arrangement of his forces showed his great mifitary 
talent and experience in war, and he soon obtained a decided 
victory in which several of the princes confederated against him 
were slain. 

Soon after this victory Baber, in extending his conquests, laid 
siege to Chanderi, a strong fort belonging to the Rajpoots. 
When the garrison saw they could defend the place no longer, 
" they, according to their dreadful custom, murdered their wives 
and children in the following manner. They placed a sword in 
the hand of one of their chiefs, and he slew the unhappy victims, 
who one after another bent of their own accord before him; 
they even contended among themselves for the honor of being 
the first slain. The soldiers then threw turmeric powder over 

* Baber closed his address to the council of his officers thus ; — " The voice 
of glory is loud in my ear, and forbids me to disgrace my name by gi^'ing up 
■what my arms have with so miich difficulty acquired. But as death is at last 
unavoidable, let us rather meet him ■with honor face to face than shrink back to 
gain a few years of a miserable and ignominious existence, for ■what can ■we 
inherit but fame beyond the limits of the grave ? " The ■whole assembly, as if 
inspired by one soul, cried at once, " War ! ■war ! " — Ferishta, vol. ii. p. 119. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAX PERIOD. 97 

their garments as on a day of festivity, and throwing loose their 
hair, issued forth with their swords and shields and sought that 
death which they all obtained. Not one was found alive in the 
fort when it was taken." 

Baber survived the conquest of India only 5 years. He died 
at the age of 50. His body was carried to Cabul to be buried 
as he had directed. His tomb is still preserved, and the ceme- 
tery is " the great hoMay resort of the people of the city." 
Few Asiatic sovereigns ever had so many good personal quali- 
ties and performed so many splendid actions to commend them 
while they lived, and to be held in esteem after they were dead. 
He was descended on the side of his father from Tamerlane, and 
on the part of his mother from Ghengis Khan, the two great 
Tartar conquerors of the middle ages. At an early age he suc- 
ceeded his father who was the king of Indija and Ferghana, 
and he was soon involved in war with his uncles, who endeav- 
ored, by taking advantage of his youth, to deprive him of his 
paternal possessions. After many successes and reverses he 
was ejected from his hereditary dominions, but in his 23d year 
he became the sovereign of Cabul, where he reigned 22 years 
before he made his great invasion of India. He possessed the 
rare quahties for an Asiatic sovereign of living on familiar terms 
of social intercourse with his officers and friends, and yet of 
retaining great influence over them. He was incessantly occu- 
pied in wars and revolutions, and yet he found time to cultivate 
a taste for the fine arts, and Ferishta says, " he was a master in 
the arts of poetry, writing, and music." In Hindustan, while 
apparently occupied in suppressing insurrections and extending 
his power over provinces which for awhile refused allegiance 
to him, he was also forming plans for making aqueducts, reser- 
voirs, canals, and caravanserais, and for introducing foreign 
fruits and other edibles, for the improvement of the country. 
His Memoirs,* in the Turki language, written by himself, are 
exceeded by very few works, ancient or modern. He also wrote 
many elegant poems in Persian, and a collection of compositions 

* There is an English translation of this work, commenced by Dr. Leyden, 
and completed by Mr. W. Erskine. It gives a graphic and interesting account 
of the religion, customs, manners, etc., of the Mohammedans and Hindus of that 
age. 



98 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

in Turki, which have always been regarded as works of uncom- 
mon merit in those languages. 

In the last year of his life his conduct in one instance exhib- 
ited some peculiar traits of character, as well as the superstitious 
prejudices of the age. His oldest son Humayoon was for some 
time very sick, and when his physicians all gave over further 
efforts, saying he must die, Baber, in accordance with a gener- 
ally received opinion among his people that it was possible to 
save the life of the sick man in such cases by devoting another 
life for him, resolved to devote his own life for his son. On 
declaring his purpose, his nobles and friends who had entire con- 
fidence in the efficacy of the means, endeavored to dissuade 
him by representing how important his own life was to his fam- 
ily and to the interests of the empne. But Baber had formed 
his purpose and continued unmoved, saying, that he was him- 
self becoming old, his constitution was already broken and he 
could not live long, but his son was young, and if restored to 
health might rule over the empire for many years. When aU 
the circumstances for the ceremony of devoting himself to save 
the life of his son had been performed, Baber walked three times 
round the bed of the dying man in the manner required. He 
then retired for prayer, and soon experienced such assurance that 
the substitution he had made had been accepted, that he 
exclaimed aloud, " I have borne it away, I have borne it away." 
These proceedings were deeply affecting to the father and the 
son, and to aU who witnessed them or then heard of them, and 
the Mohammedan historians agree in saying that Humayoon 
began from that time to recover, and that Baber, who had been 
previously ill, became more unweU, and continued to fail tiU he 
died. 

HUMAYOON, A.D. 1531. 

Humayoon, Baber's oldest son, succeeded him in the empire 
of India. He had three other sons, Kamran, Hindal, and ]\'Iirza 
Askari. Kamran was governor of Cabul for some years before 
Baber's death, and Humayoon allowed him to continue in 
undisturbed possession. He even added Lahore to the territory 
of Cabul. The empire of Baber became thus practically 
tiivided into two governments. At the beginning of his reign 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 99 

Humayoon had great confidence in astrology, and he fitted up 
halls for reception and business according to the supposed 
influence of the different planets on human affairs. Thus he 
had the haU of Mars for general and military matters, the haU 
of Mercury for his judges and matters of justice, etc. But the 
affairs of the empire soon became too urgent for him to pursue 
this course. The governors of several provinces were deter- 
mined not to yield obedience until they were compelled to do 
it, and so he was soon involved in war with them. Among 
these Bahadur of Gujerat was conspicuous for his power and 
enterprise. Humayoon proceeded with a large force into Gu- 
jerat, but he had scarcely time to estabhsh his power there 
before he had to hasten back to his own capital. Shere Khan, 
who had for some time been in possession of Bengal, proved a 
yet more formidable enemy. This prince had great mihtary 
talents as weR as unscrupulous ambition. Humayoon pro- 
ceeded into Bengal with a large force, but a series of reverses 
compelled him to retreat and return to Agra. Again he assem- 
bled a large army and proceeded against the rebellious gover- 
nor, who had now assumed the title of king. In this war the 
emperor suffered several defeats, and was twice near being 
drowned in the Ganges. Shere Khan improved the advantages 
he had gained, and pursuing Humayoon in his retreat to- 
wards Agra, at length compelled him to abandon his capital. 
Humayoon, seeing his affairs thus apparently desperate, fled 
with his family and what treasure he could carry to Scinde. 
While crossing the desert he and his followers suffered exceed- 
ingly, and in these distressed circumstances, in the desert, his 
son Acber, afterwards so celebrated in the history of India, was 
born. Humayoon continued in Scinde for three years, and 
seeing no prospect of retrieving his affairs, and becoming appre- 
hensive for his own safety, he escaped to Persia. 

In the mean time Shere Khan ascended the throne of Delhi, 
and was proclaimed emperor by the title of Shere Shah. The 
governors of some provinces refused allegiance, and a combina- 
tion of the Rajpoot chiefs against him became so powerful that 
he had to proceed into their territories with an army of 80,000 
men before he could enforce submission. "When superintending 
the batteries at the siege of KaUinger he was so much injured by 



100 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the explosion of a magazine that he survived only a few hours. 
He continued, though in a state of intense suffering, to direct 
the operations of the siege, and when intelligence was brought 
to him that the fort was taken, he exclaimed, " Thanks be to 
Almighty God," and these were his last words. He had been 
emperor for 5 years, and notwithstanding he was much occu- 
pied in reducing refractory governors to submission, he intro- 
duced many improvements, and left the empu-e in a flourishing 
state. One historian of India says that " Shere Shah made a 
high road extending for four months' journey from Bengal to 
the western Rohtas near the Indus, with caravanserais at every 
stage, and wells at every mile and a half ; there was an imam 
and muezzin at every mosque, and provisions for the poor at 
every caravanserai, with attendants of proper castes for the 
Hindus as well as Mohammedans. This road was planted 
with rows of trees for shade, and in many places was in this 
state when the historian saw it, fifty two years after it was 
made." Shere Shah is generally described as a usurper by the 
Mahommedan historians, who were in the interest of the house 
of Tamerlane or Baber. But he was born in India, he was 
high in power when Baber crossed the Indus, and he united the 
forces of the country and expelled a foreign family who had 
been only fom-teen years in power. He always sustained a 
good character when a provincial governor ; he displayed great 
mihtary talents in his wars with Humayoon, and when at the 
head of the empke he managed its affairs with wisdom, modera- 
tion, and success. He was buried at Sahseram in a mausoleum 
which he had prepared for himself. It is still a substantial 
stone structure, and " stands m the centre of an artificial piece 
of water a mile in circumference, which is faced by walls of 
stone with flights of steps descending to the water." 

Shere Shah's eldest son, Adil Khan, was designed by his 
father to be his successor. But he had never exhibited abilities 
suitable for such a difficult situation, while Jelal Khan, his 
brother, had displayed good talents for government, and dis- 
tinguished himself in the army in Ms father's wars. For these 
reasons the chiefs combined to promote Jelal Khan to the 
throne, who assumed the title of Selim Shah Soor. In this 
reign Shekh Ahai, a man of great learning, zeal, and eloquence, 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 101 

attempted to introduce a new form of religion, which occa- 
sioned much trouble. Many soon embraced his sentiments. 
" They threw their property into a common stock and some 
even left their families and devoted themselves to the Shekh. 
Khowas Khan, a distinguished officer, was among his followers. 
At first the Shekh's fanaticism was inoffensive, but some of 
his followers went beyond all tolerable bounds. They thought 
it was their duty to interfere whenever they saw a man in any 
act of sin, and if he did not attend to their remonstrance, to put 
him to death. The civil government as well as the Moolahs 
thought it was high time to interpose. The Shekh was tried 
and condemned to death, but the emperor remitted his sentence 
and banished him to Hindia on the river Nerbudda. This only 
spread the infection of his doctrines ; for he soon converted the 
governor and the garrison, and was making greater progi-ess 
than ever when he was recalled to the capital. The emperor 
was importuned by the Moolahs to put him to death, and after 
many delays he ordered him to be whipped and then to be left 
to consider for a while whether he would recant his errors. The 
Shekh was suffering from an epidemic then prevailing, and was 
so reduced that he expired at the third lash." The Moham- 
medan religion has had far more reformers than is generally 
supposed, and its history furnishes, among these reformers, 
numerous instances of zeal, self-denial, sufferings, and even 
death for their faith. 

On Selim's death, his son, Feroze Khan, then only 12 years of 
age, was proclaimed emperor, but in a few days he was assas- 
sinated by his uncle Mubariz, who assumed the office of em- 
peror by the title of Mohammed Shah. He spent his time in 
revelry, and squandered the royal treasures in folly and dissipa- 
tion. The emperor and his court were soon despised by all 
respectable people at the capital. The governors of the prov- 
inces treated the royal commands with neglect, and the empire 
was fast verging to a state of anarchy, when Humayoon, who 
had become ruler of Cabul, being aware of the distracted state 
of India, and invited by many of his former friends to . return, 
resolved on an effort to recover his former throne. 

Humayoon had been 9 years emperor of India when he 
was compelled to take refuge in Persia. Shah Tahmasp, who 

9* 



102 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

was then king of Persia, as soon as he heard of the arrival of 
Humayoon in his dominions, issued orders for him to be treated 
with all due respect. The governors of the provinces received 
him with great honor ; all the wants of himself and his follow- 
ers were supplied, and they were lodged in the royal palaces. 
But there were some circumstances of a painful and humiliating 
character. Humayoon was not allowed to approach the capital 
for some time, and several months passed before he was admit- 
ted to an interview with the Persian monarch. Soon after per- 
sonal hitercourse between them commenced, Humayoon was 
informed that if he continued in the kingdom and to enjoy the 
protection of a sovereign, he was expected to profess the Shiah 
principles of the Mohammedan faith. Humayoon at first de- 
clined, and insisted on having liberty of conscience, but Shah 
Tahmasp was inexorable, and Humayoon publicly professed to 
embrace the faith of the Shiahs, and united with them in 
rehgious worship. Several circumstances combined to make the 
situation of the exiled monarch painful and humiliating, and he 
resolved on making an attempt to obtain possession of Cabul, 
which had been a part of the dominions of his father, and was 
now nearly in a state of anarchy on account of the tyranny and 
unpopularity of his brothers. Shah Tahmasp furnished Huma- 
yoon with a large body of cavalry, and the latter was glad to 
leave Persia for a country of better hopes and prospects. Hu- 
mayoon succeeded in obtaining possession of Cabul, and was 
its acknowledged ruler for several years before he resolved on 
recovering his former throne ui India. His success in this last 
enterprise was in a gi-eat degree to be ascribed to the heroic 
conduct of his son Acber, who at that early age began to ex- 
hibit those talents, which subsequently distinguished him above 
all the Mohammedan sovereigns of India. 

Humayoon did not live long to enjoy his restoration to power. 
In a few months after his return to Delhi, he met with an acci- 
dent which soon caused his death. As he was descending the 
stairs from the terrace of his palace one evening, he heard the 
muezzin's call for prayers from the minaret. He sat down and 
repeated the creed. As he was rising, his staff shpped on the 
smooth marble stahs, and losing his balance he fell over the par- 
apet to the ground. He was insensible when taken up, though 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 103 

he soon recovered his senses, yet he was so much injured that he 
died on the fourth day. His life consisted of a series of remark- 
able adventures, fortunate and unfortunate. Htts death occurred 
in the 50th year of his age, and in the 26th year from the time 
he commenced his reign. He was an exile from his capital for 
16 years. Ferishta ascribes his misfortunes to his virtues, and 
sa,ys, " had he been less mild and religious, he would have been 
a more successful prince. Had he been a worse man, he would 
have been a greater monarch." His son Acber erected a noble 
mausoleum over his tomb.* 

ACBER, A.D. 1556. 

Acber was in his 14th year when he succeeded his father, 
and though uncommonly manly, vigorous, and inteUigent for 
his age, yet he was not capable of administering a government 
wliich required great energy, prudence, and self-reliance in all 
its departments. Happily there was one m.an, who from his 
long connection with the late emperor, his experience in the 
affairs of government, and his having the confidence of the 
army and the nobles, was well qualified to become regent. 
This was Byram Khan, who was distinguished in the army 
before the expulsion of Humayoon from India, who was liis 
companion in his exile in Persia, and who rendered important 
assistance in procuring his restoration to the empire. This 
man was now invested with the administration of the govern- 
ment, and there was soon occasion for aU his prudence, experi- 
ence, and energy. Encouraged by the youth of Acber and the 
unsettled state of the empire, several parties soon appeared in 
arms. But Byram Khan was everywhere victorious, and the 

* This tomb or mausoleum is thus described by Bishop Heber : — " Huma- 
yoon's tomb is a noble building of granite inlaid with marble, and in a very 
chaste and simple style of Gothic architecture. It is surrounded by a large 
garden with terraces and fountains, all now gone to decay except one of the 
latter. The garden itself is surrounded by an embattled wall with towers, four 
gateways and a cloister within all the way round. In the centre of the square 
is a platform, about 20 feet high, and I should apprehend 200 feet square, sup- 
ported also by cloisters, and ascended by four great flights of granite steps. 
Above rises the tomb, also a square, with a great dome of white marble in its 
centre." 



104 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

government under his vigorous hand acquired respect, order, 
and stability. But though the regent's administration of public 
affairs was generally satisfactory, yet his haughty and overbear- 
ing manners and his abuse of power to gratify personal feelings, 
raised up many enemies in the court, who wished to see him 
removed or restrained. Acber, who w^as now becoming a man, 
was displeased \\T.th the arbitrary and irresponsible manner in 
which the regent had exercised his authority, and also with the 
spirit he had manifested tov^ards him. He resolved to extricate 
himself if possible from the regent's control, and to assume the 
administration of the empire. His plan was wisely formed and 
successfully executed. When engaged on a hunting expedi- 
tion, he suddenly left the regent and proceeded to Delhi, upon 
the pretended intelligence of the illness of his mother. On 
arrivuig in Delhi he issued a proclamation, informing aU the gov- 
ernment functionaries that he had assumed the administration 
of public afFahs, and forbidding obedience to any orders not 
sanctioned by himself. The regent was taken with surprise, 
and aware that his own situation would soon be critical, he sent 
two of his most trusty friends to Delhi to effect a reconciliation 
with the emperor. But Acber refused to see them, and for some 
unexplained reason he soon put them in prison. Byram Khan 
now saw how ready aU appeared to turn from the falling min- 
ister to the rising emperor. He devised various plans for 
retrieving his affairs, but pride, suspicion, and the unexpected 
popularity of the emperor prevented his carrying them into 
effect. He was eventually reconciled to the emperor, who 
treated him with respect, and allowed him a liberal pension for 
life. But when preparing to embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca, 
he was assassinated by an Afghan, whose father he had many 
years before killed in battle. 

Acber was only 18 years old when he assumed the responsi- 
ble administration of the affairs of the empire. But in his 
personal appearance, in his manners, and in his mind, he was 
uncommonly mature for his age. He had also much experience 
in the wars of his father's reign, and under the regency of 
Byram Khan he had enjoyed opportunities for becoming well 
acquainted with the state of the empire and the character of Ms 
subjects. He saw that the great body of his subjects were 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 105 

Hindus, who notwithstanding all the means used for then- con- 
version by their conquerors, still adhered to the religion of their 
forefathers, and if permitted to follow their own superstitions, 
they were disposed to live quietly and peacefully under the 
government of foreigners. Their conduct in this respect pre- 
sented a striking contrast to the Mohammedans, who were con- 
stantly engaged in intrigues, insurrections, and attempts at 
revolution. This view of the character of the people comprising 
the great body of the empire, appears to have induced Acber to 
resolve upon a uniform mode of proceeding towards all classes 
of his subjects, and to promote persons to situations of honor 
and responsibility without regard to their nation or religious 
creed. This was a noble purpose, but the pride and jealousy 
of the Mohammedans and their contempt for the idolatrous 
Hindus made it expedient for the emperor to proceed cautiously 
in carrying his intention into effect. 

Acber was occupied for several years in reducing some pro- 
vincial governors to submission, who had maintained more or 
less independence from the invasion of Tamerlane. In these 
military expeditions he exhibited great abihty and energy. His 
proceedings often evinced more daring than discretion, but he 
gradually succeeded in recovering to the empke the revolted 
provinces. 

But Acber's reputation as a wise and politic prince, rests more 
upon the changes and improvements he made in the ci^dl ad- 
ministration of the empire, than upon his military talents and 
success, great as these confessedly were. The revenues had 
been derived from a variety of taxes very unequally propor- 
tioned, oppressive to the people, and embarrassing the operations 
of the government. Most of these he annulled, and determined 
to substitute for them a larger and fixed tax on the land. For 
the purpose of ascertaining the quantity of productive land, he 
caused all the cultivated lands to be measured. Then he en- 
deavored to ascertain from the quality of the soil the amount of 
produce from each hega, (a measure of about three fourths of 
an acre), and what proportion of this amount ought to be paid 
to the government ; and then to determine the value of this pro- 
portion in money. This scheme was carried into effect under 
the care of able men, and produced a great change in the state 



106 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of the country. When completed, this scheme exhibited an 
amount of general and particular information concerning the 
empire which was probably never before collected concerning 
any country in the world. The nominal revenue of the em- 
pire to be collected according to this scheme was diminished, 
but the amount actually realized was generally increased. The 
papers, comprehending the whole system of revenue with the 
emperor's instructions for carrying it into effect, have been pre- 
served and translated into Enghsh.* They show the state of 
India as it was under one of its most enlightened sovereigns 
nearly three centuries ago. 

The changes Acber introduced into the army, were also great 
and important. The Mohammedan armies in India consisted 
of a class of nobles called Omras, with a specified number of 
r&en under each class. For the support of these troops, the rev- 
enues of a certain district were assigned to each chief, which he 
generally leased for an annual sum to some Hindu banker. 
Each omra was required to support in a state ready for service 
the specified number of troops, who were aU paid by him, as 
weU as under his command. These omras were the nobles of the 
empire, and having the army so much under their command, 
they often stirred up insurrections and revolutions, and some- 
times deposed and set up emperors. Acber changed the man- 
ner of their support, making them dependent directly upon the 
royal treasury. The pay of a trooper, if a Persian, or from any 
country west of the Lidus, including his horse, was 25 rupees 
per month ; if he was a native of India, 20 rupees per month. 
The pay of common soldiers varied from 3 to 6 rupees per 
month. A rupee is about 47 cents. 

It was the custom of the emperors to leave their capital as 
soon as the rainy season had closed, and spend 7 or 8 months in 
their travelling cantonments. These were fitted up with regal 
splendor and resembled a large city more than a camp. They 
moved about from one province to another, as pleasure, or busi- 
ness, or health inclined them. They often went to Cashmere 
and spent the hot months in the delightful climate and beautiful 
scenery of that celebrated vaUey. The following is a description 
of Acber's cantonment : — " His camp equipage consisted of 

* " Ayeeni Acberi," or Institutes of Acber, translated by Mr. W. Gladwin. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 107 

tents and portable houses in an inclosure formed by a high wall 
of canvas screens, and containing great halls for pubKc recep- 
tions, apartments for feasting, galleries for exercise, and chambers 
for retirement; all framed af the most costly materials, and 
adapted to the most luxurious enjoyment. The inclosure was 
1530 yards square. The tents and walls were of various colors 
and pattern within, but all red on the outside and covered with 
gilded globes and pinnacles, forming a sort of castle in the midst 
of the camp. The camp itself showed like a beautiful city of 
tents of many colors, disposed in streets without the least dis- 
order, covering a space about 5 miles across, and affording a 
glorious spectacle when seen at once from a height." * 

The following extract from the same author gives a view of 
Acber's splendor on particular occasions : — " The greatest dis- 
plays of Acber's grandeur were at the vernal equinox and on 
his birthday. They lasted for several days, during which there 
was a general fair and many processions and other pompous 
shows. The emperor's usual place was in a rich tent in the 
midst of awnings to keep off the sun. At least 2 acres were 
thus spread with silk and gold carpets and hangings, as rich as 
velvet embroidered with gold, pearls, and precious stones could 
make them. The nobihty had similar pavilions where they 
received visits firom each other, and sometimes from the emperor. 
Dresses, jewels, horses, and elephants were bestowed upon the 
nobles. The emperor was weighed in golden scales against 
gold, silver, perfumes, and other substances in succession, wMch 
were distributed among the spectators. Almonds and other 
fruits of gold and silver, were scattered by the emperor's own 
hand, and eagerly caught by the courtiers. On the great day of 
each festival the emperor was seated on his throne in a noble 
palace, surrounded by Ms nobles wearing high heron plumes, and 
sparkling with diamonds like the firmament. Many hundred 
elephants passed before him in companies, all most richly 
adorned, and the leading elephant of each company with gold 
plates on his head and breast set with rubies and emeralds. 
Trains of caparisoned horses followed, and after them rhinoce- 
roses, lions, tigers, panthers, hunting leopards, hounds, and 

* Elphinstone, p. 481. 



108 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

hawks, the whole concluding with an innumerable host of cav- 
ahy glittering with cloth of gold." 

One of Acber's favorite residences was Futtypoor, which was 
abandoned soon after his death, 250 years ago. Bishop Heber 
visited it in 1826, and says that " the approach to the city is strik- 
ing, being surrounded with a high stone wall with battlements, 
and round towers, that Vvdthin he found marble palaces, serais, 
mosques, mausoleums, etc., some of them in ruins, some par- 
tially dilapidated, and some in a state of good preservation." 
The Bishop closes saying, " Futtypoor is one of the most inter- 
esting places I have seen in India." 

These accounts give us a view of oriental courts and camps, 
and of the state of civilization in India at that time. Acber 
was yet more remarkable for his rehgious opinions and prac- 
tices. In the early part of his hfe he showed the sincerity of his 
rehgious profession by going on pilgrimage to the tombs of 
reputed saints, and at one tim.e he avowed his intention of going 
on pilgrimage to Mecca. But he afterwards became sceptical 
in respect to the Koran and avowed deistical sentiments. He 
had also several learned men at his court, who were originally 
Mohammedans, but became sceptical in their principles. Some 
of these learned men became well versed in Sanscrit Kterature, 
and translated some of the Hindu sacred books into the Persian 
language. Acber though he became sceptical in respect to the 
Koran, did not at once become indiiferent to all religion. He 
showed a great desire to become acquainted with the different 
systems of faith in the world, and he sent letters to Goa for 
Roman Catholic priests to come to Agra. Accordingly 3 priests 
proceeded to Agra and remained there for considerable time. 
These missionaries held several pubhc discussions with the 
muftis and brahmins before the emperor, each party stating and 
vindicating his own system. The Romish missionaries were 
much pleased with the emperor's apparent sincerity, and in their 
letters and journals expressed the hope that he would soon pro- 
fess his faith in Christianity. But when his curiosity had been 
gratified, he became more indifferent to the subject, and becom- 
ing discouraged they returned to Goa. 

Some years afterwards, Acber again wrote to Goa for mis- 
sionaries and another deputation proceeded to Agra. Their 



HISTOKY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 109 

reception and treatment were at first very gratifying. They had 
several conferences with the emperor, and also public chscussions 
with the muftis and brahmins. But it was not long before they 
thought they saw reasons for beUeving that he had no sincere 
desire to embrace Christianity, and no higher motives than curi- 
osity and amusement in the inquiries he made concerning its 
history, doctrines, rites, etc. So the missionaries returned to 
Goa. About four years after their return, Acber again wrote to 
Goa, " with so many promises and kind expressions that the 
governor could not refuse to gratify him a third time." This 
mission proceeded to Lahore where the emperor with his court 
was then residing. He received them with great respect and 
manifested so much sincerity in his inquiries, and gave such ear- 
nest attention to their statements and instructions, that they were 
encouraged to hope for his conversion to their church. But on 
further acquaintance with his principles and practices, especially 
when they saw the homage he paid to the sun, and the rever- 
ence which he encouraged the people to pay to himself, and 
which appeared to them to partake of religious homage, they 
became discouraged and requested permission to return to Goa. 
The religion of Acber appears to have been deism, and such 
was the rehgion of his most intimate friends. He was fond of 
the society of learned men, and had many such from different 
countries and of different systems of rehgious faith residing at 
his court. It was his custom to assemble them all every Friday 
to discuss subjects of religion and philosophy. In these discus- 
sions he took great delight, and often took an active part in 
them. The Dabistan, a Persian work on the different systems 
of rehgion in Asia, contains specimens of the discussions in 
these assemblies. One of them (probably only an imaginary or 
pretended one, but showing what they generally were,) is a Dia- 
logue between a brahmin, a Mohammedan, a Zoroastrian, a 
Jew, a Christian, and a philosopher, in which the professor and 
advocate of each religion states his system and the arguments 
for it. These dialogues or discussions were generally closed by 
some one, who in the character of a philosopher, avowed deisti- 
cal sentiments, who recommended a system of religion founded 
on the light of nature, on reason and vktue, and whose opinions 
and arguments were supposed to have the approbation of the 

10 



110 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

emperor. The Acber Nameh contains an account of a discus- 
sion of this nature. The parties were a Romish priest by the 
name of Redif, and a number of Mohammedan moolahs, and it 
was carried on before the emperor and a large assembly of 
learned men of different religions. Li this debate the priest has 
the advantage in temper and argument. The debate or discus- 
sion was closed by the emperor, who reproved the moolahs for 
their angry temper and bigotry, and declared his own behef to 
be that God could be most acceptably worshipped by following 
our own reason and what we can learn concerning him from 
his works, and not by taking our creed from any of the pre- 
tended revelations. Such discussions show the sentiments of 
Acber, and also the state of religious parties at his court. 
The toleration and protection which aU rehgious denominations 
enjoyed in Acber's reign increased his general popularity and 
the prosperity of the empire, though by pursuing tliis course, he 
gave great offence to devout and bigoted Mohammedans. But 
of the influence of tliis class he had no fear, and for their opin- 
ions he had no respect. Acber died in 1605. His reign was 
the longest, and he must be reckoned the greatest of ah the Mo- 
hammedan sovereigns of India ; and he was probably the most 
powerful monarch at that time in the world.* 

JEHANGHEER, A.D. 1605. 

Acber reigned for 51 years, and was succeeded by his son 

* Acber was buried at Secundra, and Ms tomb or mausoleum is among the 
most remarkable structures in India. Bisbop Heber calls it "magnificent," 
and says, " it is tbe most splendid building in its way wbicb I had yet seen in 
India. It stands in an area of about 40 English acres, inclosed by an embattled 
wall with octagonal towers at the angles, surmounted by open pavilions, and 4 
very noble gateways of red granite, the principal of wliich is inlaid with white 
marble, and has 4 high marble minarets. The space within is planted with trees, 
and divided into green alleys, leading to the central building, which is a sort of 
solid pyramid, surrounded externally with cloisters, galleries, and domes, dimin- 
ishing gradually on ascending it, till it ends in a square platform of white mar- 
ble, carved with a delicacy and beauty which do full justice to the material, and 
to the graceful form of Arabic characters which form its chief ornament. At the 
bottom of the building, in a small but very lofty vault, is the real tomb of this 
great monarch, plain and unadorned, but also of white marble." — Heher's Jour- 
nal, Vol. I. p. 473. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. Ill 

Selim, who took the title of Jehangheer, (Conqueror or Agent of 
the World,) by which he is known as the emperor of India. He 
had been intemperate in the use of wine and opium in the reign 
of his father, and much apprehension was felt in view of what 
might be his conduct and character when he should become em- 
peror. Though he did not whoUy reform himself, yet he pro- 
Mbited the use of wine, and made laws to regulate the use of 
opium ; aU transgressions of these rules were to be severely 
punished. He publicly professed his faith in the Koran, and 
complied v»dth the usual forms of the Mohammedan reUgion, 
though he manifested no particular zeal in this cause. His old- 
est son, Khusru, had long been alienated in feeling from his 
father, and each looked upon the other with suspicion. A few 
months after his father's accession, Khusru secretly fled with a 
few of his friends to Delhi, and collecting what force he could, 
he proceeded to Lahore. He easily obtained possession of the 
city, but before he could take the fort, the force sent in pursuit 
of him by his father arrived. He arranged his own force, now 
consisting of 10,000 men, in order and attacked the royal army. 
He was defeated and fled in the direction of Cabul, but he was 
pursued, overtaken, and brought back to his father a prisoner. 
The emperor treated the partisans of Khusru at Lahore with 
great barbarity, causing 700 of them to be impaled in one row 
near the gate, and his son Khusru to be borne along the line 
on an elephant to witness their sufferings. Khusru was so 
much affected that he passed three days in tears, and groans, 
and fasting. He was kept in prison for some time, and was 
finally assassinated. 

The most remarkable part of Jehangheer's life was his ac- 
quaintance and marriage with Noor Jehan, or Noor Mahal, as 
she called herself. This remarkable woman v/as descended 
from Persian parents, of a noble family, but in reduced circum- 
stances. She was remarkable for her beauty, her accomplish- 
ments, and her abilities. Her life, previous to her marriage with 
Jehangheer, was such a series of actions, adventures, and events, 
as could only occur in oriental history. Her influence over the 
emperor must have been as great as the most ambitious of her 
sex could desire. " He took no step without consulting her, and 
on every affair in which she took an interest, her will was law." 



(4- 

112 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. , . . 

Her father was made prime minister, and filled the place ably 
and honorably. Her two brothers were raised to high situa- 
tions, and on the death of her father, one of them succeeded 
him. They were both men of distinguished talents, and "their 
modesty and their virtues reconciled all men to then- sudden 
elevation." Previous to his marriage, the emperor had been in- 
temperate, capricious, and cruel. Through her influence his 
habits and conduct were greatly improved, if not entirely re- 
formed. " The ceremonies, manners, and usages of the court 
were remodelled by her ; its splendor was increased by her 
arrangements, while its expenses were diminished by her man- 
agement. The furniture of the palaces was greatly improved 
by her taste, and she introduced female dresses more becoming 
than any in previous use in India." " One of the accomplish- 
ments by which she captivated Jehangheer, is said to have 
been her facility in composing extemporary verses." In the civil 
war, in the latter part of Jehangheer's reign, on one occasion she 
put herself at the head of the army, " appearing in the howdah 
of a high elephant with a bow and quivers fuU of arrows in her 
hands." She was among the foremost in the battle, and the 
most furious assault was made upon her. Her elephant was 
surrounded with a crowd of Kajpoots, upon whom " she dis- 
charged four quivers of arrows with her own hand." But her 
guards were overpowered and cut down ; balls and arrows fell 
thick round her howdah ; three of her elephant-drivers were 
killed, and the noble animal having received a sabre-cut on his 
proboscis, rushing into the river, was carried a long way down 
the stream by the current, and with great difficulty reached the 
opposite shore, the empress continuing aU the time upon him in 
her howdah. 

This remarkable woman was concerned in all the affau-s of 
government till the close of Jehangheer's reign, and she showed 
as much capacity for the intrigues of the court as she had cour- 
age in the dangers of the camp and the perils of the battle field. 
She survived the emperor nearly twenty years. She was treated 
with great respect, and had a princely allowance, living retired 
from the world, refraining from all scenes of amusement and 
gaiety, and wearing a dress of deep mourning. She was buried 
at Lahore, by the side of the emperor, in a tomb which she had 
prepared for herself. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 113 

The last years of Jehangheer's reign were extremely unhappy. 
His sons Khusru, Parviz, Khurrum, and Sheriar aimed at differ- 
ent times to secure the succession each for himself. , The 
empress Noor Jehan exerted aU, her influence with the emperor, 
and engaged, with her characteristic ardor and ability, in all the 
intrigues of the court in these matters. Khurrum, who had 
been declared to be heir apparent and invested with the title of 
Shah Jehan, felt compelled afterwards to take extreme measures 
to secure his promised rights, and was for some time in a state 
of rebelKon against his father. The emperor was himself, at 
one time, for several months a prisoner of Muhabut Khan, a 
distinguished military leader, who was compelled to use these 
measures to secure his own safety from a party excited against 
him by Noor Jehan. For several years the emperor had 
scarcely any fixed residence, living in his travelling palace, 
and continuing only a short time in one place. He died on a 
march from Cashmere to Lahore, a.d. 1627, in the 60th year of 
Ms age, and after a reign of 22 years. 

Jehangheer's reign was distinguished by two English missions 
to his court. William Hawldns, captain of the ship Hector^ 
was furnished with letters from James I. for the Emperor 
Jehangheer, to be used if the state of matters at Surat should 
make it expedient for him to proceed to the court. He experi- 
enced so many difficulties at Surat from the Mohammedan 
governor and the Portuguese, that he resolved to proceed to 
Agra. The governor of Sm-at was averse to this course, and 
Hawkins narrowly escaped assassination on the road. The 
emperor received him courteously, and having learned that 
Hawkins could speak the Turkish language, and that he 
could have direct communication with him, he invited him to 
come daily to the palace, where "his majesty held long dis- 
courses with him respecting different countries and various mat- 
ters." The emperor made promises to redress the grievances of 
which Hawkins complained, and he instituted such measures 
to remove them that for a while the objects of the mission 
appeared Hkely to be soon accomplished. But after a while, 
through the influence of the Portuguese, the opposition of 
the prime minister, Abdul Hassan, and the prejudices and 
intrigues excited by the governor of Surat, matters began to 

10* 



114 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

resume their former course. Hawkins endeavored for a while to 
oppose this combined current against him, but at length seeing 
no prospect of accomplishing any thing further, he left Agra, 
after residing there two years and a half, and returned to Surat. 
Su- Thomas Roe was at the head of the next mission. He 
arrived at Surat in September of 1615, and " landed in great 
pomp, with 80 men at arms." The emperor was then at 
Ajmere. Sir Thomas proceeded first to Burhanpoor, where he 
had a pubKc interview with Prince Parviz, the emperor's second 
son, who was surrounded with oriental splendor, as the em- 
peror's viceroy. The prince promised a private interviev/, but 
unluckily among the presents Sir Thomas gave the prince, were 
some bottles of wine, which the latter used so freely that he 
was not in a fit state for an interview till the time arrived for 
the ambassador to take his departure. On the way to Ajmere, 
Sir Thomas passed Chittore, concerning which he says, " above 
100 temples, many lofty towers, and houses innumerable, were 
seen crowning the lofty rock on which it stands, but it was at 
this time entirely deserted." At Ajmere, the emperor received Sir 
Thomas at the dm-bur, or the place of public audience with great 
respect. Indeed, " he was assured that no other ambassador, 
either Tm-k or Persian, had ever obtained the like, and at the next 
interview he was allowed and ever after retained a place higher 
than thatof aU the other courtiers." He had several conferences 
with the emperor, and though opposed by aU the influence of the 
governor of Smut as well as of the prime-minister and Prince 
Khurrum, (then Jehangheer's favorite son, and afterwards Shah 
Jehan,) yet he succeeded in obtaining a firman which, though 
not aU that was desired, yet greatly facilitated the English trade 
with the sea-ports in the dominions of the empire. Sir Thomas 
Roe resided in India for some years, and gave so great satisfac- 
tion that the East India Company gave him an honorary seat 
in their committee of management, and an annuity for life. 

SHAH JEHAN, A.D. 1627. 

Of Jehangheer's sons, only two, Khm-rum, or Shah Jehan, and 
Sheriar survived him. Many years before his death he had pub- 
licly, acknowledged Khurrum to be heir to the throne, bestowing 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN" PERIOD. 115 

upon him at the same time the title of Shah Jehan,* by which 
he was afterwards generally known. He had also exhibited dis- 
tinguished abilities, and rendered his father important assistance 
in suppressing some insurrections and administering the affairs 
of the empire. In the last years of his life, Jehangheer became 
somewhat alienated in feelings from Shah Jehan, and through the 
influence of Noor Jehan he appointed by his will Sheriar to be 
his successor. Asaph Khan, the prime-minister, had long been 
pledged to support the rights of Shah Jehan, and he took vigorous 
measures to secure his succession. Sheriar seized the royal 
treasure and gained over part of the army to his interest, but he 
was defeated in a battle near Lahore and taken prisoner. Shah 
Jehan, who was in the Deckan at the time of his father's death, 
hastened to Delhi, where by the vigorous cooperation of his 
friends he was acknowledged emperor and soon took formal 
possession of the throne. But the possession of present power 
did not satisfy him. His brother Sheriar, in accordance with 
his father's will had attempted to secure the throne for himself. 
In these attempts the other members of the family had united. 
But they had failed and aM were now prisoners of State. Shah 
Jehan saw that the easiest way to secure himself and his family 
from aU danger and anxiety from those who might in future 
prefer any natural or family claim to the throne, would be to 
remove aU such persons out of the way. So he caused his 
brother Sheriar and all the descendants of his father to be put 
to death, and " there remained not a drop of the blood of 
Tamerlane in India, except what flowed in liis own and his 
children's veins," 

All fear of any revolts or other dangers being removed. Shah 
Jehan resolved to celebrate the commencement of his reign with 
great liberaKty and splendor. He bestowed great honors and 
rewards on the men, to whose influence and cooperation he 
owed his accession to power. He had always been fond of 
pomp and show, and he had now the means of gratifying his 
inclinations. He caused palaces to be erected in all the princi- 
pal cities of the empire. He had an estabKshment of tents pre- 
pared for himself and household, which included as much space 

* King of the "World. 



116 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and would accommodate as many people as a small city. It was 
the practice for oriental sovereigns to cause themselves to be 
weighed against gold coins and jewels, and then to distribute 
such articles in charity or appropriate them to some sacred pur- 
pose in the superstitious belief that such offerings would avert 
calamities and secure success. In addition to such ceremonies 
and charities, the emperor caused vessels to be filled with gold 
coins, jewels, and precious stones, and then having been waved 
around him or pom-ed over him, they were given to those around, 
or scattered among the crowd, or sent away as presents. The 
entire expense of this festival, including gifts of money, jewels, 
precious stones, rich dresses, arms, elephants, horses, palanquins, 
etc., according to Khafi Khan, exceeded $7,500,000. 

Shah Jehan's jealousy and cruelty in putting his brother and 
aU his nephews to death, did not annihilate all aspirants to the 
throne. Khan Jehan Lodi, who boasted of being descended 
from the former Afghan emperors, and who had held high mih- 
tary command under the late "emperor, took the part of Sheriar, 
and so incurred the displeasure of Shah Jehan. A reconcilia- 
tion between them took place, but Khan Jehan Lodi saw rea- 
sons for believing that the emperor was only waiting for an 
opportunity to degrade and disgrace him. So he left Agra with 
what force he could collect and proceeded into the Deckan, 
where he had formerly held high military command. The state 
of the Deckan soon became such that Shah Jehan found it 
necessary to proceed there with a large army. Khan Jehan 
Lodi was killed near Kahnger, but the war was continued in 
the Deckan for several years. The kingdom of Ahmednuggur 
was finally annexed to the empire, and the kings of Beejapoor 
and Golconda, acknowledged the sovereignty of the emperor of 
Delhi, and engaged to pay yearly tiibute. 

Having settled the affairs of the Deckan, Shah Jehan returned 
to Delhi and enjoyed some years of repose, when the state of 
Cabul became such that he resolved to assert the ancient claims 
of his family to it. This was the commencement of a long and 
arduous war, in which the emperor proceeded liimself several 
several times to Cabul. But it was chiefly earned on by his 
sons Dara and Aurungzeb. Balk, Candahar, and Cabul were 
besieged and taken. But war with the Usbecks, the Persians, 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 117 

and Afghans was found to be very different work from what it 
was with the Hindus, or with the Mohammedans of Lidia. 
And after 8 or 10 years spent in victories and defeats, in sieges 
and surrenders, the emperor withdrew all his force from that 
country, and no further attempts were made by the emperors of 
Delhi to extend their power over the countries west of the Indus. 
Shah Jehan was apparently very fortunate in his family, 
which consisted of 4 sons and 3 daughters. BQs sons when 
young aU gave evidence of good natural abihties, and acquired 
the education, manners, and accompKshments becoming their 
birth and expected stations in Hfe. As good-will and harmony 
appeared to exist among them while under the care of their 
father and they aU manifested great respect towards him, he 
appointed them to high and responsible situations in the govern- 
ment. Dara Sheko, who was the oldest and designed to be his 
successor in the empire, he retained with him to assist him in 
administering the affahs of the government. Shuja, his second 
son, was appointed viceroy of Bengal. Aurungzeb, the third 
son, was appointed viceroy of the Deckan ; and Morad, the 
youngest son, was viceroy of Gujerat. These situations they 
filled honorably and ably. The office of viceroy in India is one 
of great honor, the man filling it representing the sovereign, and 
having the command of the army and of the revenue of the 
provinces under his government. While in these situations it 
became manifest that each of the sons had some intention of 
maldng an effort to secure the throne for himself on the death 
of their father. This intention might in part originate in a feel- 
ing of self-preservation as w^ell as in a love of power. In the 
Mohammedan governments in India the oldest son was regarded 
as the natural heir of the throne, unless set aside by the reign- 
ing sovereign while Kving, or by his will at his decease. But 
neither the rights of primogeniture, nor the will of the sovereign 
were sufficient always to secure the succession. Other sons and 
other parties, if they saw any prospect of success by the use of 
any means, or power, or influence, or treachery, would not un- 
frequently make an effort to secure the throne, and then it be- 
came a struggle for Kfe as weU as power, among all engaged in 
it. Shah Jehan caused his own brothers and then- sons to be 
put to death that he might thus be rid of aU danger and anxiety 



118 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of any rival or family claim to the throne. And what the sons 
had seen their father do to secm-e the undisputed succession for 
himself and family, each of them had reason to fear might be 
the fate of himself and famUy. So the choice before each of 
them was to secure the throne for himself, or to be put to death 
by the brother who should succeed in obtaining it ; a horrid, 
but often true picture of the royal family in oriental govern- 
ments. 

While Shah Jehan was vigorously administering the affairs 
of the empire, and appeared likely so to continue for some 
years, and the distance of his sons, who were viceroys, from 
their father and also from each other was so great, there was no 
caU or occasion for declaring or divulging their purpose in the 
event of his death, and so the affairs of government proceeded 
quietly at the capital and in the provinces. In a.d. 1657, the 
emperor was taken suddenly very ill, and for some time was 
thought by all to be near his end. Dara Sheko, who had been 
acknowledged to be heir apparent, and had been for some years 
assisting his father, at once assumed the administration of 
affairs in his father's name. He showed a jealous feeling 
towards his brothers, expelled their agents fr'om the city, or put 
them under restraint, and endeavored to prevent any intelli- 
gence of the state of the emperor from being communicated to 
them. But his brothers had means of obtaining information 
which he could not control, and as soon as they heard of the 
state of the emperor, and how Dara was managing affairs in 
Agra, each of them began to carry into effect the purpose he 
had long cherished of securing the throne for himself and his 
family. Shuja in Bengal and Morad in Gujerat, each assumed 
the royal title, and collecting as large a force as they could com- 
mand, began their march towards Agra. Aurungzeb acted with 
more caution. He did not assume the royal title, but collecting 
aU the force he could, he proceeded to the northern frontier of 
his territory, there to watch the course of events, and be in 
circumstances to take advantage of them. In the mean time 
the emperor, contrary to all expectation, recovered his health 
and resumed the administi-ation of the government. Shuja and 
Morad were ordered to return to their respective governments. 
Shuja affected not to believe the intelligence, treated the letters 



HISTOET — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 119 

as forgeries, and continued his march. Suliman, the son of 
Dara, was sent against him with a large army, defeated him 
near Benares, and compelled him to return to Bengal. 

In the mean time Aurungzeb wrote to Morad, encouraging 
him in the course he had begun, promising to assist him in 
securing the tin-one, and that as soon as he should see him 
established in the government, he would himself resign aU 
power, and retiring from the cares of the world devote his 
remaining days to rehgious duties. Morad apparently reposed 
enthe confidence in the professions of Aurungzeb, and the two 
princes uniting their forces near Oujein, defeated the imperial 
army sent against them under Jeswunt Sing. On the union of 
the two brothers, Aurungzeb took an aath to be faithful to the 
interests of Morad, and before and after the victory he publicly 
professed that his sole object was to aid his brother to secure 
the throne. His superior abihties enabled him to control mat- 
ters according to his own views, and the victory over the 
imperial army was gained by his superior valor and experience 
in war. 

This defeat of the royal army awakened the emperor and aU 
the court to the formidable nature of the rebellion. A large 
force was stationed at the passes of the Chumbul to prevent 
Aurungzeb and Morad crossing the river. But Aurungzeb, hav- 
ing discovered an unknown and unguarded ford at some dis- 
tance, left his camp standing to deceive his enemies, and soon 
surprised them by appearing with all his force in their rear. Shah 
Jehan now resolved to put himself at the head of liis army and 
proceed to engage with his rebellious sons. But he was dis- 
suaded from this com-se by the members of his family and other 
fi:iends. Dara took charge of the royal army, containing aU 
which could then be collected, and which consisted, according 
to Khafi Khan of "70,000 horse with innumerable elephants 
and guns." Bernier is of the opinion that the army contained 
"100,000 horse, 20,000 infantry, and 80 pieces of artiUery." 
The t^vvo armies met at Samaghur, one day's journey from 
Agra. In this battle both armies fought with great obstinacy. 
Aurungzeb urged his elephant to places of the greatest danger, 
caUing aloud to his troops, " God is with us, and we have no 
other refuge or retreat." The battle had raged long and was 



120 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

undecided, when a rocket struck Dara's elephant, and the 
animal became so unmanageable that he was compelled to leap 
off and mount a horse. His disappearance was soon observed 
by his army, and supposing he had been killed, they became 
alarmed, fell into disorder, and soon began to give way. Dara, 
finding it impossible to restore order or to rally his troops, was 
compelled to seek his own safety by flight. As soon as the 
battle was closed, Aurungzeb descended from his elephant, 
kneeled down in the presence of the whole army, and praised 
the Almighty for the victory he had granted them. He then 
went to Morad and congratulated him upon having secured the 
throne and empire. 

Dara, on arriving at Agra, took his famUy and what treasure 
he could carry with him, and proceeded to Delhi. In three days 
after the battle, Aurungzeb and Morad proceeded to Agra, and 
took possession of the city without any resistance. As Morad 
was suffering from wounds received in the late battle, the sole 
command now devolved on Aurungzeb, who knew well how 
to turn every circumstance to his own advantage. He sent 
humble messages to his father, trying to assure him of his con- 
tinued respect and affection, and justifying himself in the course 
he had pursued. His desire probably was to effect a reconcilia- 
tion with his father, and then to carry on the government in his 
father's name, and assume the throne on his decease. But 
Shah Jehan could not forgive Aurungzeb for what he had 
done, and he continued inflexible in Ms attachment to Dara. 
"When fully satisfied that he could make no arrangement of this 
nature with his father, Aurungzeb sent his own son Moham- 
med to take possession of the citadel, with strict orders to pre- 
vent all communication between the emperor and any one 
beyond its waUs. The conduct of Aurungzeb and the other 
parties is thus described by Murray : — 

" The confederate armies proceeded to Agra, where Morad 
being confined with his wounds, the entire command devolved 
upon Aurungzeb. His first care was to send an emissary 
to corrupt the troops of Sufiman, in which he easily suc- 
ceeded, or rather they corrupted themselves by following the 
usual Asiatic system of going over to the prosperous party. 
His next anxiety was to obtain possession of his father's person. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 121 

This was a measure both delicate and difficult, for the fortified 
palace in which Shah Jehan resided was capable of withstand- 
ing a long siege ; which pressed by a parent against a son, a 
monarch so popular and highly respected, would have placed 
him in a Very odious position. It was most desirable, therefore, 
to effect his purpose by stratagem ; but he had to deal with one 
versant in aU the wiles of policy and in aU the forms of human 
deceit. Determining, however, to make the trial, he sent a mes- 
senger to the emperor, expressing deep regret at the situation 
in which he found himself, assuring him that he still retained 
all the affection of a son^ and aU the loyalty of a subject. Shah 
Jehan gave very small credit to these professions, yet he resolved 
to temporize, and sent his favorite daughter Jehanara to visit 
her brothers, and to ascertain how affairs reaUy stood. She 
went first to Morad, who, knowing her to be entirely devoted to 
the interests of Dara, received her with very slender courtesy. 
The offended princess returned to her palanquin, and was 
hastening out of the camp, when she met Aurungzeb, who 
saluted her with the utmost kindness and respect, complained 
of her having held so little communication with him, and pre- 
vailed upon her to enter his tent. He then professed the deep- 
est remorse for the conduct into which he had been hurried, and 
his anxiety by any means to make reparation. He even ex- 
pressed a willingness to espouse the cause of Dara, were it not 
that it already appeared quite desperate. Jehanara was thus 
induced to lay open aU the resources of that prince, and to 
name the chiefs who remained stiU attached to him, disclosing 
to her brother many most important secrets of which he after- 
wards fuUy availed himself. He then declared that he was en- 
tirely satisfied, and that in two days the emperor would see at 
his feet his repentant son. 

" Jehanara, now hastened to her father with this joyful intelli- 
gence. But the monarch did not place full reliance on these 
professions, yet believing that Aurungzeb really intended to pay 
him a visit, he determined to take advantage of the opportunity 
to secure his person. He was not aware that he was playing 
the game with one who possessed skill superior to his own. 
Aurungzeb sent a humble message, representing that the guilty 
are always timid, — that being scarcely able to conceive how 

11 



122 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

crimes such as his could be forgiven, he could in no way be 
reassured, unless his son Mohammed were allowed previously 
with a small guard to enter the palace. Shah Jehan was so 
bent on his object and so convinced of the sincerity with 
which the proposal was made, that he hesitated not to agree to 
it. The youth entered, and being cordially received, he sta- 
tioned liis party in a convenient situation. But his eager eye 
soon discovered a large body of troops occupying a very suspi- 
cious position. He went to the emperor and stated the appre- 
hension to which this circumstance could not fail to give rise, 
observing that unless these men were removed, he must imme- 
diately inform his father, who would then probably renounce 
his intended visit. The old man, still credulous and determined 
to make every sacrifice rather than fail in his object, consented 
that the soldiers should quit the palace, thus rendering Moham- 
med and his party the real masters. Then indeed it was 
announced that Aurungzeb had mounted his horse and was ap- 
proaching with his retinue. Shah Jehan seated himself on his 
throne in the highest exultation, expecting to see the complete 
accomplishment of his schemes and hopes. He soon learned, 
however, that Aurungzeb, instead of entering his presence, had 
gone to pay his devotions at the tomb of Acber. Considering 
tliis as a decided shght to himself, Shah Jehan indignantly in- 
quired of Mohammed, " What means Aurungzeb by this 
behavior ? " Mohammed deliberately replied, " My father never 
intended to visit the emperor." " Then why are you here ? " 
inquii-ed Shah Jehan. " To take charge of the citadel," rephed 
Mohammed. Shah Jehan saw at once the abyss into which he 
had plunged himself, and burst into a torrent of invective and 
self-reproach, which induced his grandson to withdraw. On 
sober reflection, he sent again for the youth, and painting the 
miseries of his condition, he urged the most pressing entreaties 
that the prince would restore to him his liberty, promising in 
reward even the empire of India, which his influence Avith the 
army and the people would be sufficient to secure. Mohammed 
appeared to hesitate for a moment, but then hastening out of the 
apartment, turned a deaf ear to every subsequent solicitation." * 

* History of India, p. 272, 273. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 123 

Shah Jehan lived for several years, but here his reign ended. 
From this time he was a mere prisoner of State. He had a 
princely allowance, and was treated with great respect, but he 
never again saw either of his sons, nor went outside of the waUs 
of the citadel. He reigned 30 years. He was 67 years old 
when he was deposed, and 74 years old when he died. 

The reign of Shah Jehan, when compared with his predeces- 
sors, was quiet, and the people generally were prosperous. The^ 
wars in the Deckan and Cabul, did not much disturb the gen- 
eral state of the empire. Previous to his accession to the 
throne, he had much experience in war, and had exhibited great 
military talents. And if he did not exhibit equal wisdom and 
ability in administering the affairs of the empire, stiU his govern- 
ment was generally satisfactory to the Hindus, and decidedly 
popular with the Mohammedans. The historians of that period 
describe the state of the empire as very flourishing, while some 
of them declare him to be the greatest and best of all the Mo- 
hammedan sovereigns of India. Khafi Khan, who is generally 
considered the best of the Mohammedan historians, is of the 
opinion that Acber excelled aU the other emperors as con- 
queror and lawmaker, yet that no monarch in India ever ex- 
celled Shah Jehan in the general administration of all the 
departments of the government. Tavernier and Bernier, who 
had passed several years in India, and saw the state and eii- 
cumstances of the inhabitants, describe the government as good, 
the country as prosperous, and the people as generally quiet and 
contented. In pomp and display, this emperor exceeded all his 
predecessors, and wherever he went, into the Deckan, or to Ca- 
bul, or to Cashmere, he appeared in the same splendor and 
magnificence. The royal pavihon, with aU its different parts 
and appurtenances, was as large as a small city, and could ac- 
commodate many thousand people. Cashmere was his sum- 
mer retreat. Li the cool and delightful climate of that valley, 
the time was spent in feasts, dances, illuminations, excursions 
by land and water, hunting, and other sports and pleasures 
congenial with the chmate, the seasons, and the scenery. 

The pubhc works of this reign are monuments of taste, skill, 
and enterprise. The royal cities of Delhi and Agra were 
greatly enlarged, and acquired their highest stat6 of splendor. 



124 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The palaces, mosques, and baths were on a royal scale. The 
Jumma Musjid, or royal mosque, was a magnificent edifice and 
cost half a milfion of dollars. The gardens of Shalemar with 
their baths, fountains, statues, etc., now in ruins, were a mile in 
circumference, and are said to have cost more than four millions 
of dollars. The imperial palace, in wMch the emperor was con- 
fined for the last 7 years of his life, was large and magnificent. 
When the Mahrattas, in 1760, obtained possession of the city, 
then* chief Sudashew Bhow caused the silver ceiling and orna- 
ments of the audience haU to be taken and coined into money, 
and the value was nearly $800,000. No one of the emperor's 
works excited so much curiosity as his celebrated peacock 
throne. This curious work took its name from a part of it 
resembhng the expanded tail of a peacock, the natural colors of 
which were imitated by sapphu-es, emeralds, rubies, etc., aU 
v/rought into it, and formmg the chief ornament of a mass of 
diamonds, and other precious stones of surpassing briUiancy. 
Tavernier, who saw it and was himself by profession a jeweller, 
and so a competent judge in such matters, says that the com- 
mon estimation of its cost exceeded .£6,000,000, or nearly 
$30,000,000. This sum included the precious stones in it. 

The mausoleum called Taj Mahal, erected hj the emperor 
over the tomb of his favorite wife, exceeded aU his buildings. It 
stands on the banks of the Jumna in a large park, which is 
beautifully situated and highly ornamented. Two elegant 
mosques stand, one on each side of the mausoleum, at a mod- 
erate distance. The edifice is buUt of white marble with a 
minaret at each corner, and a high dome, 70 feet in diameter, 
over the central part. In the middle, under the dome, is the 
tomb, which is inclosed by an open screen of marble inlaid by 
mosaics. " The walls," says Elphinstone, " are of white mar- 
ble with borders of a running pattern of flowers in mosaics. 
The graceful flow, the harmonious colors, and above aU the 
sparing use of the rich ornament with the mild lustre of the 
marble on which it is displayed, form the peculiar charm of the 
building, and distinguish it from any other in the world. The 
materials are lapis lazuh, jasper, heliotrope, or blood-stone, a 
sort of golden stone (not weU understood) with chalcedony, and 
other agates, cornelians, jade, and various stones of the same 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 125 

description." " A single flower in the screen," says Veysey, 
" contains a hundred stones, each cut to the exact shape neces- 
sary, and highly polished." Taverriier (already referred to) who 
lived many years in India in the reign of Jehangheer, and 
who saw tliis edifice when it was commenced, and when it was 
completed, says that 20,000 men were employed upon it for 22 
years, and that it cost 31,748,000 rupees, or nearly 15,000,000 
dollars. 

The construction of these works must have cost Jehangheer 
immense sums of money. The expenses of his wars in the 
Deckan, and of his frequent expeditions to Cabul, Candahar, and 
Ballv must have been very great. His regular standing army of 
200,000 men was maintained in an efficient state, and at the 
time he was deposed the royal treasury contained more than 
$100,000,000 of coined money, besides a great accumulation of 
uncoined gold and silver, and of jewels and precious stones. 

Shah Jehan, whose reign commenced with the murder of all 
his brothers and their families, that he might obtain the throne 
and then be rid of all who might trouble him, passed the last 7 
years of his life a prisoner in his own palace, deprived of aU 
power by a son who had usurped the throne, and who to secure 
it for himself and his family had not only deposed and impris- 
oned his father, but had also put to death his 3 brothers and 
their families. "What an exliibition of the lust of power in the 
conduct of this emperor in the early part of his reign, and again 
in the sufferings and circumstances of himself and his family 
in the latter years of his life ! 

AURTJNGZEB, A.D. 1657. 

Aurungzeb, having thus made his father a prisoner of State 
in his own palace, had next to dispose of his brother Morad. 
This unhappy and deluded prince was confidently expecting 
soon to be acknowledged emperor of India. Aurungzeb con- 
tinued for awhile to deceive him with this expectation, pretend- 
ing himself at the same time to be making preparations to 
embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca as soon as Morad should be 
safely seated on the throne. But in the mean time he was 
secretly using aU the means in his power to prejudice the army 

11* 



126 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and the public against his brother, and to attach all parties to his 
own mterest. His proceedings were so much at variance with 
his professed intentions that the suspicions of Morad and his 
friends were at length excited. A plan was formed to assas- 
sinate Aurmigzeb ; but he became aware of his danger and 
escaped the snare laid for him. Li tm-n he formed a scheme for 
getting Morad into his possession. This plan was successful. 
Morad was soon a prisoner in the power of Ms brother, and his 
friends could not ascertain in what place he was confined. 
Am-ungzeb now took formal possession of the throne, and caused 
himself to be proclaimed emperor by the name or title of Au- 
lumgheer, the Conqueror or Agent of the "World. Among 
Mohammedans in India he is generally called and known by 
this title, but among aU other classes of people he has been 
chiefly known by his previous name, and so he Avill continue to 
be called in this work. 

Am'ungzeb had now succeeded thus far m all his plans. He 
had deposed and imprisoned his father. He had deprived his 
brother Morad of aU authority and power, and put him in close 
confinement. Dara had been defeated and fled to Lahore, and 
Shuja had been defeated and returned back into Bengal. But 
Aurungzeb had still much cause for anxiety. Plis treatment of 
his father, and Ms brother Morad, had excited much indigna- 
tion against Mm. Shuja was in possession of Bengal and all 
its resources. Dara was collecting an army at Lahore, while 
Ms son, Suliman was at the head of a considerable force, on 
the way to join his father. Aurungzeb, having arranged Ms 
affairs at DelM and Agi-a as weU as he could, began to pursue 
Dara, who finding Ms force not sufficient to meet his brother in 
the field, fled from Lahore to Scinde. Aurungzeb pm-sued him 
to Multan, where on hearing that Shuja was on the way from 
Bengal to Agra with an army of 25,000 men, he abandoned the 
pursuit of Dara, and retm-ned to his capital. Here he stopped 
only for a few days, and then marched to meet Shuja. The 
two brothers met near Allahabad and a severe battle was 
fought, in which Shuja was defeated with great loss of troops 
and all his cannon and Ms baggage. Aurungzeb, havuig de- 
spatched his son Mohammed, and Meer Jumla one of his prin- 
cipal generals, in pursuit of Shuja, retmiied to Agra. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PEEIOD. 127 

But there was much to be done before Aurungzeb could 
quietly enjoy the throne he had acquired by such perfidy and 
iniquity. Dara had found friends in Gujerat. The governor, 
Nawaz Khan, regarded him as the rightful heir to the throne, 
and beUeving he would yet be able to obtain it, espoused his 
cause, and joined him with all his force. Thus Dara soon 
found himself at the head of an army of 25,000 men, and at 
once commenced his march towards Agra. Aurungzeb, who 
well understood how much in his cu'cumstances depended upon 
despatch, hastened to meet Dara, and the two brothers, with 
their armies in hostile array, met near Jypoor. "When the battle 
had raged furiously for some hours, and victory was yet unde- 
cided, Nawaz Khan was seen to faU, and this produced such a 
panic that the troops soon gave way, and fled in all directions. 
The unhappy Dara fled towards Gujerat. His fortunes now 
appeared desperate, and nearly all his pretended friends forsook 
him, though not without aggravating his distress by seizing and 
carrying away with them nearly aU his treasure. He was for 
some time a fugitive in Gujerat, himself and family reduced to 
great distress. Finding neither sympathy nor safety in Gujerat, 
he resolved to proceed to Candahar. On the way he claimed 
the hospitality of Jehan Khan, a petty prince who had formerly 
been sentenced to death by Shah Jehan, and been pardoned by 
Dara's intercession for him. This prince at first received and 
entertained Dara in a kind and friendly manner, but instead of 
assisting him to proceed on the way to Candahar, he made him 
a prisoner, and delivered him into the hands of Aurungzeb's 
general, who soon arrived in pursuit of him. He was carried 
to Delhi, where he was conducted through the principal streets, 
miserably mounted, and meanly clothed. The feelings of the 
inhabitants, excited by this wanton cruelty, was compassion for 
the unfortunate sufferer, and indignation against his heartless 
brother. So strong were the feelings of the people in view of 
the sufferings of Dara and the base conduct of Jehan Khan, his 
ungrateful betrayer, that the latter was attacked with tHes and 
stones, and would have been kUled in the streets, if he had not 
been rescued by the soldiers. Aurungzeb seeing the state of 
public feeling, resolved at once to remove Dara, and he was 
soon assassinated in prison. His dead body was publicly 



128 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

exhibited on an elephant, and his head was cut off and carried 
to the emperor, that there might be no doubt of his death in the 
city or in the army. 

Aurungzeb was now apparently rid of all who could prefer 
any natural or family claim to the throne, except his brother 
Shuja, who was in possession of Bengal and Bahar. Against 
him the emperor soon sent his eldest son and acknowledged 
heir, Mohammed, and his most experienced general, Meer 
Jumla, with a large force. On their arriving near the camp of 
Shuja, some very remarkable occurrences took place. Previous 
to the illness and deposition of Shah Jehan, when all his sons 
were on friendly terms with each other, this prince Mohammed 
had been betrothed to a daughter of Shuja, to whom lie had 
formed a strong attachment. This lady, in concert with her 
father, now addressed a letter to Mohammed ; and their refer- 
ence to his former pledges and promises and their appeal to his 
feelings, produced such an effect upon him, that he resolved to 
fulfil his marriage engagement, though it could be done only by 
forsaking the interest of his father and joining the party of 
Shuja. Perhaps he hoped in this way to effect a reconciliation 
between his father and uncle ; or that the army would follow 
his example, and then the united force would enable them to 
restore peace to the empire. He embarked upon the Ganges, 
professedly on an excursion of pleasure, and proceeded to the 
camp of Shuja. This conduct of Mohammed produced a great 
sensation in the army, but ]\f eer Jumla by his great energy and 
influence was able to preserve order, and the excitement soon 
subsided. Mohammed was received by his uncle with great 
honor, and his marriage with the daughter of Shuja w^as cele- 
brated with great pomp and festivity. As soon as the season 
would admit, Mohammed put himself at the head of Shuja's 
army, and marched out in front of the army he had left, expect- 
ing some great movement among them in his favor ; and when 
he saw the force he lately commxanded approaching, he thought 
they were coming to join his standard. But their fierce attack 
soon showed their spirit and aims. Mohammed and Shuja 
exerted themselves to the utmost, but thek force soon gave way 
and fled with great loss. 

Soon after this defeat, Aurungzeb, who never scrupled at any 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 129 

means for accomplishing his pm-poses, wrote a letter to his son, 
which professed to be in answer to one from him, in Vv^hich he 
referred to a plan for betraying Shuja into his power. This let- 
ter was designed to fall into the hands of Shuja, and matters 
were purposely so arranged that it should come into his hands 
without his suspecting any artifice to deceive him. The plan 
succeeded. Shuja was shocked at discovering the treachery, as 
he thought, of his son-in-law. It was in vain that Mohammed 
asserted his innocence and fidelity, and that he had written 
nothing whatever to his father since he abandoned his interest. 
Shuja's suspicions still continued, and Mohammed was told 
that he must at once depart from Bengal. The unhappy prince 
was now reduced to the greatest distress* He had now no re- 
source but to throw himself upon the clemency of his father, 
and he had never been known to show clemency to any one 
who had once offended hun, or of whom he was suspicious. 
Aurungzeb caused his son to be arrested and confined in Gwa- 
lior, the common prison for all persons supposed to be danger- 
ous to the State. And here the unfortunate Mohammed 
remained in prison till his death. Sepher a son of Dara, Suh- 
man a son of Shuja, and a son of Morad, were also confined 
in the same prison, and all v/ere kept there for life, or were put 
to death. The affairs of Shuja became worse till he was com- 
pelled to escape with his family into Arracan, where they all 
soon perished. 

The reign of Aurungzeb, though commenced with such cruel- 
ties and atrocities yet enjoyed more quiet than those of his 
predecessors generally, perhaps more than any of them. Under 
him the Mogul empire in India attained its greatest extent, 
including nearly all the peninsula, with Cabul on the west, and 
Assam on the east. In the 6th year of his reign, he had a 
severe and dangerous illness. While he was in this state, in- 
trigue and faction were busy, and he had reason to fear the 
consequence to himself and his family. In these circumstances 
he exhibited great fortitude under his sufferings, and great 
energy and sagacity in the administration of his affairs. On 
liis recovery, these factions and intrigues were soon suppressed 
by his prudence and vigilance. The interruptions of amicable 
relations between the court of India and Persia, and the threat- 



130 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ened invasion of Lidia by Shah Abbas, then King of Persia and 
the most powerful and warlilce sovereign in Asia, for awhUe 
caused Aurungzeb great uneasiness. He was naturally very 
suspicious, and he was apprehensive that in the event of such an 
invasion, the Persians who were numerous in India, would 
unite with the invaders. But it was not long before the death 
of Shah Abbas occurred, and the state of anarchy which 
ensued in Persia, relieved him from aU anxiety from this source. 

There was one insurrection at this time which showed the 
superstitious character of the Hindus and Mohammedans. An 
old Hindu woman in Marwar, having in some way acquired 
a high reputation for sanctity, collected around her a large num- 
ber of faquers and other devotees, who assumed the form of 
an army and defeated some force sent against them. Exagger- 
ated reports of these victories were circulated, and this fanatical 
host was soon increased to 20,000. This woman pretended to 
perform miracles, and that by the rites she practised and pre- 
scribed to her followers, they would become invulnerable to any 
kind of weapons or fire-arms. Several of the petty princes 
joined her party. They marched towards Agra, overcoming 
aU resistance, and proclaiming Bistamia, (the name of this vvo- 
man,) the Queen of India. Aurungzeb was surprised at this 
sudden outbreak, and he became alarmed on finding that his 
own army was becoming infected with this superstition. The 
means he used to suppress tliis insurrection, showed that he 
weU understood the character of his army, and the spirit of the 
age. He caused selected sentences of the Koran, some written 
with his own hand, and aU duly consecrated, to be applied to 
their weapons, and then to be put upon their standards, assuring 
them that these would prove an infallible protection against any 
magical rites and miraculous powers possessed by their enemies. 
Having thus inspired his army with confidence, he made an 
attack upon the fanatical hosts, and dispersed them with great 
slaughter. 

The Rajpoot princes had at different times acknowledged the 
sovereignty of the emperors of Delhi, and paid them an annual 
tribute, but they retained the control of affairs in their own ter- 
ritories, and supported very considerable mihtary forces. With 
these armies they often assisted the emperors, and perhaps as 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 131 

often they resisted them. Aurungzeb was a bigoted Moham- 
medan, and had a great abhorrence of idolatry. Some means 
he used to proselyte the Hindus, and some laws he enacted in 
favor of the Mohammedans gave great offence to the Rajpoots, 
and they united in self-defence. This had more the character 
of a religious war than any which had occurred under the Mogul 
dynasty. The combination at one time became very formidable, 
the Rajpoot army amounting to 70,000 men. Acber, the em- 
peror's youngest son, joined them, and they proclaimed him 
emperor. Their intention was to depose Aurungzeb, and put 
Acber upon the throne. Aurungzeb was once very near falling 
into their hands. But he soon succeeded in effecting divisions 
among his enemies. Acber becoming discouraged, fled into 
the Deckan and joined the Mahrattas. The state of the Deckan 
now requiring Aurungzeb's immediate attention and all the mil- 
itary force he could collect, he offered such terms of peace to the 
Rajpoots, as they gladly accepted. 

In the latter part of the reign of Shah Jehan, the Mahrattas 
under Shevajee began to act a conspicuous part in the affairs of 
western India. Shevajee was the son of Shahjee, a Mahratta 
chief, and he inherited a part of his father's possessions. He 
early conceived a strong aversion to the Mohammedan religion, 
and was more than ordinarily scrupulous in performing and sus- 
taining the superstitions of the Hindus. When Aurungzeb 
was viceroy of the Deckan, Shevajee occasioned him much 
trouble. The natural features of the country, the character of 
the people where Shevajee began his course, and the declining 
and often distracted state of the kingdom of Beejapoor, were all 
favorable to his progress. Nor was he at all scrupulous in 
respect to the means he used to increase his power, or to replen- 
ish his treasury. Having obtained information concerning the 
immense wealth and defenceless state of Surat, then the great 
commercial emporium of western India, Shevajee took 4,000 
horse, and proceeding rapidly by unfrequented ways came unex- 
pectedly upon the city, plundered it for several days, obtained a 
great amount of booty, and returned to his own liill-fort among 
the Ghats. Aurungzeb sent a large force against him under 
experienced generals, who carried on war for several years with 
various success. An arrangement was at length made by which 



182 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Shevajee surrendered a part of his territory and was to have a 
high command in the emperor's army. He then proceeded to 
Dellii, where he was to be duly invested with the command. But 
Aurungzeb, regarding his enemy as now in his power, instead 
of fulfilling his part, first treated Shevajee with neglect, and 
then put him under restraint. The latter found means to escape, 
and after wandering about for nine months in the guise of a 
Hindu devotee, reached his friends in safety. From this time 
he was irreconcilably opposed to Aurungzeb, and to ail Mo- 
hammedan power. Li 1674, he assumed the title of Raja, and 
though illiterate (for he was never able to read or to write), yet 
his ten'itory was well governed, and he was very popular among 
the Mahrattas. His power continued to increase, and his army 
at one time amounted to 80,000 cavalry, and 40,000 infantry. 
He died in a.d. 1680, in the 53d year of his age. His name and 
character have always been revered by the Mahrattas. 

Aurungzeb became at length so much dissatisfied with the 
manner in which the wars in the Deckan were canied on, that 
he resolved to proceed there and superintend them himself. 
The kingdoms of Beejapoor and of Golconda, had acknowledged 
the sovereignty of the emperor of Delhi and paid annual tribute, 
but they still retained the management of their own internal 
affairs. Aurungzeb resolved entnely to subdue these kingdoms, 
as well as to conquer the Mahrattas. He first commenced war 
on Beejapoor, which had become much diminished by previous 
wars, and was then distracted by internal feuds. He besieged 
and took the city in 1688, and annexed the tenitory to the em- 
pire of Delhi. Beejapoor had been the capital of one of the Mo- 
hammedan kingdoms of the Deckan for 200 years. He then com- 
menced war on the kingdom of Golconda, which was annexed 
to the empire in 1687. While engaged in this last-mentioned 
war, he became suspicious that his son Moazzim had some 
plan to depose him and seize the throne. He immediately caus- 
ed his son to be arrested. It was in vain that his son asserted 
his innocence, and that all believed he was innocent. He was 
put into confinement, and was kept under more or less restraint 
for 7 years. Aurungzeb's youngest son Acber, who first joined 
the governor of Gujerat in an insurrection against his father 
and then fled to the Mahrattas, now fearful of falling into his 



HISTORY THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 133 

father's hands, fled to Persia and never returned again to 
India. 

Aurungzeb continued in the Deckan tOl his decease in 1706. 
His residence there exceeded 22 years. He did not select 
any city as his capital, but removed about from place to place. 
His encampment in extent and population resembled a large 
city. The royal pavilion was of great extent, and every thing 
connected with it was in a style of imperial magnificence.* 

* " The display of power presented by Aurungzeb's marches and encampments 
in the Deckan, was grand and imposing to a degree which has seldom been sur- 
passed. Besides foreigners, his cavalry, assembled from Cabul, Candahar, Mul- 
tan, Lahore, Eajpootaua, and the extended provinces of his vast empire, was the 
flower of his army and array of gigantic men and horses completely armed and 
accoutred, whom it might be imagined the more slender and light-armed natives 
of the Deckan could hardly venture 'to oppose. His infantry was numerous 
and was composed of musketeers, matchlock men, and archers, well equipped, 
besides bodies of hardy Boondelas and Mewattees, accustomed to predatory con- 
tests among the mountains, and better able to cope with the Mahratta Mawulees. 
To these were afterwards added many thousands of infantry raised in the Car- 
natic. There were several hundred cannon manned by natives of Hindustan, but 
directed by European gunners. A great number of miners were attached to the 
park of artillery with artisans of every description. A long train of war elephants 
was followed by a number of the same animals on the emperor's private establish- 
ment, employed to carry the ladies of his seraglio. Numerous led horses mag- 
nificently caparisoned, fermed a stud for the emperor's riding. A menagerie 
accompanied the camp, from which the rarest animals in the world were fre- 
quently brought forth and exhibited by their keepers before the emperor and his 
court, while hawks, hounds, hunting tigers, trained elephants, and every accom- 
paniment used for field sport, swelled the pomp of the prodigious retinue. 

" The canvas walls which encompassed the royal tents, formed a circumfer- 
ence of 1,200 yards, and contained every description of apartment to be found 
in the most spacious palace. Halls of audience for public assemblies and 
private councils, with all the courts and cabinets attached to them, each hall 
magnificently adorned, and having in it a raised seat or throne for the emperor, 
surrounded with gilded pillars, with canopies of velvet richly fringed and 
superbly embroidered ; separate tents as mosques and oratories ; baths, and gal- 
leries for archery and gymnastic exercises ; a seraglio as remarkable for luxury 
and privacy as that at Delhi ; Persian carpets, damasks, and tapestries ; Euro- 
pean velvets, satins, and broadcloths ; Chinese silks of every description, and 
muslins, and cloths of gold were used in the iTtmost profusion, and arranged for 
the greatest effect. Gilded balls and cupolas surmounted the tops of the royal 
tents, the outside of which and the canvas walls, were of a variety of lively 
colors disposed in a manner which heightened the general splendor. The en- 
trance into the royal inclosure was through a spacious portal, flanked by twO' 

12 



134 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The war with the Mahrattas continued all this time. Sum- 
bhajee, the son and successor of Shevajee, was a depraved and 
profligate prince. " He put the widow of Shevajee to a painful 
and lingering death ; he imprisoned her son Raja Ram. He 
threw the brahmin ministers who had been most active against 
him into prison, and he beheaded such of his other enemies as 
were not protected by the sanctity of their class." When in a 
state of intoxication and revelry, he was taken prisoner by 
Tokarnab Khan, one of the emperor's generals. Sumbhajee 
had imbibed his father's hatred of Mohammedans, and their 
rehgion. " To an invitation to become a Mussulman, he replied 
in language so insulting to the emperor and so impious towards 
the prophet, that an order was given for his immediate execu- 
tion. His eyes were first destroyed with a hot iron, his tongue 
Vv^as cut out, and he was then beheaded." This barbarity in- 
creased the hatred of the Mahrattas towards Aurungzeb and 
the Mohammedan government, and the war on their part 
had much of a religious character. Unable to meet the em- 
peror's forces in the open country, the Mahratta chiefs avoided 
coming to pitched battles, but kept up a harassing warfare, 
plundering the country around the royal encampment, cutting 
off convoys, attacking departments, etc. Aurungzeb obtained 
possession of nearly all the forts, and the grand army exhibited 
a striking contrast to any force the Mahratta chiefs could assem- 
ble. Still after 20 years of warfare, the emperor's army and 
power had decreased, and theirs had increased. Indeed, so 



elegant pavilions, from which extended on each side rows of cannon, forming 
an avenue, at the extremity of which was an immense tent containing the great 
state drmns and imperial band. A little further in front was the post of the 
grand guard on duty, commanded by a nobleman who mounted it daily. On 
the other side surrounding the great inclosure just mentioned, were separate 
tents for the emperor's armory, harness, etc., a tent for water kept cool with 
saltpetre, another for fruit, a third for sweetmeats, a fourth for betel, and so on, 
with numerous kitchens, stables, etc. Such luxury in a camp is scarcely to be 
conceived. And besides what has been described, every tent had its exact dupli- 
eate, whicli was sent on in advance to be prepared against the emperor's arrival. 
His march was a grand procession, and when he entered his pavilion, a salvo 
from 50 pieces of ordnance announced the event. In all places and circum- 
stances he assumed and maintained every form and ceremony observed at the 
established residences of the imperial court." — Calcutta Review. 



HISTORY THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 135 

great had been the change, that it was becoming evident the 
emperor must bring hostilities to a close by making peace with 
the Mahrattas, or withdraw from the Deckan, leaving the coun- 
try to their undisputed possession. 

But this state of matters was brought to a close by the death 
of Aurungzeb, which took place near Ahmednugger, in 1706, in 
the 89th year of his age, and the 50th year from his assuming 
the imperial power — a long and eventful reign.* He made his 
way to the tin-one by deposing and imprisoning his father, and 
putting to death his three brothers and all their sons. And he 
was equally unscrupulous during all his life in respect to using 
means to preserve his power. He had no confidence in his own 
sons that they would not at any time treat him and each other, 
as he had treated his father Shah Jehan, and his brothers. And 
his sons, knowing as they did, by what means he acquired the 
throne, and seeing his suspicions of them, had neither confi- 
dence in him nor affection for him. His oldest son Mohammed 
joined his uncle and father-in-law Shuja, and fought against 
his own father, and when he afterwards again espoused his 
father's interest, he was put in prison and never again had his 
liberty. Acber, another son, joined the governor of Gujerat, in 
an insurrection against his own father, and when this failed, he 
fled to the Mahrattas, and ultimately to Persia, where he died. 

* Historians differ in respect to Ms age and reign. One says " he died in the 
89th year of his age, and in the 50th year of his reign." Another says, "In the 
94th year of his age, and in the 49th year of his reign." Another says, " In 
the 93d year of his age, and in the 48th of his reign." And yet another says, 
"In tlie 93d year of his age, and in the 51st year of his reign." 

Aurungzeb's body was buried at Roza, 16 miles from Aurungabad. Roza 
contains the mausoleums of many Mohammedan kings, princes, and nobles. 
When at this place in 1834,1 inquired for the tomb of Aurungzeb, and expected 
to find a mausoleum corresponding to his dignity and fame. I was conducted 
to a grave covered with a well-wrought stone, and with a small frame of wood 
over it, but surrounded with several large and elegant mausoleums erected over 
gi'aves. Great reverence was shown to the grave of Aurungzeb, and the moolahs 
in charge of the burial ground apparently thought more of it than of all the 
mausoleums of the place. I asked them why the great Aurungzeb had not a 
mausoleum corresponding to his rank and dignity, and they replied that the 
grave and the small wooden frame over it were prepared and had been pre- 
served just as he directed before liis death, as he wished thus to show to the 
world the end of all human greatness, pomp, and power. 



136 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

JMoazzim^ another son, was in confinement for many years. Of 
his other sons he showed great suspicion, and they lived in con- 
stant dread of him. 

In all the departments of government, in war as well as in 
peace, he exhibited great talents. Nor was his care limited to 
a general superintendence of the different departments. " He 
conducted every branch of his government in the most minute 
detail. He planned campaigns and issued insti'uctions during 
their progress ; drawings of forts were sent to him to fix on the 
points of attack. His letters embrace measures for keeping 
open the roads in the Afghan country, for quelling disturbances 
at Multan and Agra, and even for recovering Candahar ; and at 
the same time there is scarcely a detachment marches, or a con- 
voy moves in the Deckan without some orders from his own 
hand. The appointment of the lowest revenue officer of a dis- 
trict, or the selection of a clerk in an office, is not beneath his 
attention, and the conduct of aU these functionaries is watched 
by means of spies and of prying inquiries from all comers, and 
they are constantly kept on the alert by admonitions founded 
upon such information." 

In his personal habits, he was remarkable for an Asiatic sov- 
ereign of a great empire. He was plain and simple in his dress, 
abstemious in his food, refraining entirely from the use of spirits, 
indulging in no amusements or reveby, systematic in the em- 
ployment of his time, and punctual in performing his religious 
duties. His zeal for the Mohammedan faith and the means he 
used to propagate it, made him unpopular and even odious 
among the Hindus, and excited prejudices which greatly 
impaired the stability of Mohammedan governments in Lidia. 
He would employ the Hindus in no situation of honor or respon- 
sibihty. The Mohammedan conquerors of Lidia, in accordance 
with the general principles of their faith, imposed a capitation 
tax on the Hindus, thus discriminating between them and the 
behevers. This tax was always odious among the Hindus, as 
taxes always must be which are founded upon a difference of 
faith. This odious tax was annulled by Acber, and was not 
exacted for more than a centmy. But it was re-imposed and 
exacted by Aurungzeb. He also forbid the use of fiquors, 
gambling, and idolatrous processions. He forbid the public 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 137 

celebration of the Hindu festivals. In a few large cities the 
most celebrated temples were demolished, and mosques were 
erected in their places.* Many of his letters, on personal as 
well as public matters, have been preserved, and the life and 
reign of no Asiatic sovereign have been so fuUy described and 
are now so generally known. Mohammedan historians often 
speak of him as the greatest of aU the emperors of India. 

The following extract appears to give a just view of the char- 
acter of Aurungzeb. " He was a man of a mUd temper and 
cold heart ; cautious, artful, and designing ; a perfect master of 
dissimulation ; acute and sagacious, though not extended in his 
views ; and ever on the watch to gain friends and to propitiate 
enemies. To these less brilliant qualities he joined great cour- 
age and skill in military exercises ; a handsome, though not ath- 
letic form ; affable and gracious manners, and lively and agreea- 
ble conversation. He was so great a dissembler in other matters 
that he has been supposed to have been a hypocrite in rehgion. 
But although religion was a great instrument of his policy, he 
was beyond aU doubt a sincere and bigoted Mussulman. He 
had been brought up by men of known sanctity, and had him- 
self shown an early turn for devotion ; he at one time professed 
the intention of renouncing the world and taking the habit of 
a fakir ; and throughout his whole Hfe he evinced a real attach- 
ment to his faith in many things indifferent to his interest, and 
in some most seriously opposed to it. His zeal was shown in 
his prayers, and reading the Koran, in pious discourses, in abste- 
miousness, (which he aflFected to carry so far as to subsist on the 
earnings of his manual labor,) in humility of deportment, 
patience under provocation, and resignation in misfortunes ; but 
above aU in earnest and constant endeavors to promote his own 
faith, and to discourage idolatry and infidelity. But neither 
religion nor morality stood for a moment in his way when they 
interfered with his ambition; and though full of scruples at 
other times, he would stick at no crime that was requisite for the 
gratification of that passion." f 

* This Aurungzeb caused to be done in Benares and Mathura. The mate- 
rials of the temples were used in building the mosques. 
f Elphinstone, p. 521. 

12* 



138 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In reading the actions and contemplating the character of 
such men as Aurungzeb, we often wish to know how their con- 
duct appeared to themselves, especially in such a review of Hfe 
as they can take in their old age. The following extracts from 
his letters to his sons give a strildng picture of his feelings 
in view of his past life and death then just before him. He 
says : — 

" Old age is arrived ; weakness subdues me, and strength has 
forsaken aU my limbs. I came a stranger into this world, and a 
stranger I depart. I know nothing of myself, what I am, and 
for what I am destined. The instant which passed in power, 
has left only sorrow behind it. I have not been the guardian 
and protector of the empire. My valuable time has been passed 
vainly. I had a patron in my own dwelling (conscience), but 
his glorious hght was unseen by my dim sight. — I brought 
nothing into thi,s world, and except the infirmities of man, carry 
nothing out. I have a dread for my salvation, and with what 
torments I may be punished. Though I have strong reliance 
on the mercies and bounty of God, yet regarding my actions 
fear will not quit me ; but when I am gone, reflection will not 
remain. — My back is bent with weakness, and my feet have lost 
the powers of motion. The breath which rose is gone, and left 
not even hope behind it. I have committed numerous crimes, 
and know not with what punishments I may be seized. — The 
guardianship of a people is the trust by God committed to my 
sons. — I resign you, your mother, and son, to God as I myself 
am going. The agonies of death come upon me fast. — Odi- 
poree, your mother, was a partner in my illness, and wishes to 
accompany me in death ; but every thing has its appointed 
time. — I am going. Whatever good or evil I have done, it was 
for you. — No one has seen the departing of his own soul, but I 
see that mine is departing." 

Such were the feelings of this great emperor in review of a 
life containing probably a greater amount of deliberately perpe- 
trated wickedness than was ever committed, more uninterrupted 
success in all his schemes, and prosperity in all his ajflfairs, than 
was ever realized, more wealth and power than was ever pos- 
sessed, and more grandeur and splendor than was ever enjoyed, 
by any other monarch or mortal in the history of the world. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PEEIOD. 139 



THE SUCCESSOES OF AURUNGZEB. 

Aurungzeb's love of power, and his jealousy of his sons, did 
not allow of his investing any of them with much power while 
he was living. In a paper containing a kind of will, found 
under his pillow after his decease, he recommended that Moaz- 
zim should be recognized as emperor, and that he and Azim 
should divide the empire, the former having Delhi for his capital, 
with the northern and eastern provinces, and the latter having 
Agra for his capital, with the south-western and southern prov- 
inces including the Deckan, excepting the kingdoms of Beejapoor 
and Golconda, which were to belong to Cambuksh. As soon 
as Moazzim, who was in Cabul, heard of his father's death, he 
assumed the dignity of emperor, and the title of Bahadur Shah, 
though for some time before his father's death, he was known 
by the title of Shah Aulum. Azim who was in Malwa, has- 
tened to the royal camp and was acknowledged emperor of 
India. The two brothers then proceeded towards Agra, with 
as large a force as each could collect. Some historians say that, 
as the two armies were approaching each other near Agra, 
Bahadur Shah wrote to his brother, proposing to divide the 
empire between them, and that Azim rejected the offer. The 
two armies soon came into conflict, when Azim was defeated 
and himself and his two sons were slain. Bahadur Shah then 
took formal possession of the throne, palace, etc. Cambuksh, 
who had taken possession of the kingdom of Beejapoor and Gol- 
conda, and acknowledged the sovereignty of Azim, refusing 
now to aclaiowledge Bahadur Shah, the latter marched into the 
Deckan, and in a battle near Hyderabad defeated his brother, 
who died of his wounds the same day. Bahadur Shah died 
in 1712, having reigned nearly 6 years. In the latter part of 
his reign he was involved in war with the Sikhs, then a 
rehgious sect and beginning to acquire importance in the 
northern parts of India. This war was conducted on both 
sides with great barbarity. 

Bahadur Shah left four sons, who began to contend each for 
the throne soon after their father's death. Nor did this struggle 
cease till three of them had fallen, and the oldest was left in 



140 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

undisputed possession. Jehander Shah proved to be a weak- 
minded and profligate sovereign. One of his first acts was to 
put to death all the males of the royal family, whom he could 
get into his power. But there was one, Ferokshere, a son of 
his brother Azim Shah, then in Bengal and beyond his reach. 
Ferokshere and his friends, among whom were Abdoolla Khan, 
and Hoossen Ali, two brothers, who were then the governors of 
Bahar and Allahabad, knowing the emperor's purpose, and 
shocked at his cruelty and selfishness, collected a large army, 
and defeated the force which was sent against them. They 
then proceeded towards Agra. On arriving near the city, the 
emperor and his vizier met them with an army of 70,000 men. 
The emperor was defeated, and Ferokshere soon took posses- 
sion of Agra. The emperor, the vizier, and many others were 
put to death, and Ferokshere ascended the throne in a.d. 1713. 
He appointed AbdooUa Khan his vizier, and Hoossen Ali his 
commander-in-chief, and the emperor was little else than a 
pageant in their hands whUe he lived. These brothers were 
Syuds or descendants of Mohammed. 

The reign of this emperor continued for about 6 years. The 
empu-e was all the time in a very distracted state in the capital 
as well as the provinces. Intrigues in the court, assassinations 
in the palace, and insurrections and battles in the provinces, 
constitute the principal matters of his reign. This state of the 
empire encouraged the Sikhs to renew the war, which was car- 
ried on with greater barbarity, if possible, than before.* So 

* The follo-vving extracts sliow tlie cliaracter of tlie parties and the spirit and 
manners of the age: — "The Sikhs under a new chief named Bandu, who had 
been bred a religious ascetic, and who combined a most sanguinary disposition 
with bold and daring counsels, broke from their retreat and overran the east of 
the Punjab, committing unheard of cruelties, wherever they directed their steps. 
The mosques were destroyed and the moolahs were butchered. The rage of 
the Sikhs was not restrained by any considerations of religion, or by any mercy 
for age and sex. Whole towns were massacred with wanton barbarity, and 
even the bodies of the dead were dug up and thrown out to the birds and beasts 
of prey." — The same horrors marked their route through the country eastward 
of the Sutledge and the Jumna, into which they penetrated as far as Seharan- 
poor. In their next excursion they ravaged the country as far as Lahore on the 
one side and of Delhi itself on the other. Such was the character of the Sikhs In 
their former wars. And they were not reformed by suffering punishment from 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 141 

many of the Sikhs were put to death and otherwise perished in 
this war, that it was a long time before they appeared again 
upon the page of history. Ferokshere was put to death by 
order of Abdoolla Khan and Hoossen Ali, who then proclaimed a 
child, a great grandson of Aurungzeb, to be emperor, but he lived 
only five months. They then proclaimed another similar child 
to be emperor, but he lived only three months. They then 
placed a grandson of Bahadur Shah, then 17 years old on the 
throne, by the title of Mohammed Shah. This emperor was for 
a while a mere pageant of those who had placed him on the 
throne, but becoming impatient of their control, he united with 
others in a plan for removing them. Hoossen Ali was soon 
assassinated in his palanquin, and AbdooUa Khan was deposed 
and deprived of aU power. The empire continued to be in a 
distracted state. The emperor was dissolute in his habits, and 
ficlde in his purposes and plans. He was often at variance with 
his ministers, and they again were quarrelling among them- 
selves. Nizam ul Mulk, who established the family and 

the government, nor the principles of their own religion. — " Meanwhile the long 
continued dissensions among the Mohammedans afforded an opportunity to the 
Sikhs to recruit their strength. Bandu issued from his retreat, defeated the 
imperial troops and ravaged the country with greater fury than before. At 
length an army was sent against him, under an able chief named Abdusemed 
Khan. By him the Sikhs were beaten in repeated actions, and Bandu was at 
last made prisoner with a number of his men and some of his principal follow- 
ers. Most of these persons were executed on the spot, but 740 were selected 
and sent with Bandu to Delhi. They were paraded through the streets on 
camels, dressed in black sheep skins with the wool outside, and were exposed to 
the execrations of the people, which it must be confessed they had well deserved. 
But their punishment exceeded the measure of their offences, even such as 
theii's. They were all beheaded on 7 successive days, and died with the utmost 
firmness, disdaining every offer to save their lives at the expense of their 
religion. Bandu was reserved for greater cruelties. He was exhibited in an 
iron cage, clad in a robe of cloth of gold and a scarlet turban. An executioner 
stood behind him with a drawn sword. Around him were the heads of his fol- 
lowers on pikes, and even a dead cat was stuck on a similar weapon to indicate 
the extirpation of every thing belonging to him. He was then given a dagger 
and ordered to stab his infant son, and on his refusing, the child was butchered 
before his eyes, and its heart thrown in his face. He was at last torn to pieces 
with hot pincers, and died with unshaken constancy, glorying in having been 
raised up by God to be a scourge to the iniquities and oppressions of the age." 
— ElpMnstone, p. 607, 608. 



142 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

power of the present Nizam of Hyderabad, and Sadat Khan, 
who established the family and power of the present Nabob of 
Oude or Lucknow, became prominent in the affairs of the 
empire at this time. The Mahrattas, though their chiefs were 
often at war among themselves, yet carried on an aggressive 
war most of the time on all sides, and appeared likely soon to 
become the predominant power in India. 

While affairs were in this state in India, intelligence arrived 
from the west, which reminded the princes and the people of the 
former invasions of Tamerlane and Baber. Nadir Shah, the 
most conspicuous prince of Persia in the last century, com- 
menced his military career as the head of a company of ban- 
ditti. The increase of his followers soon gave him power, and 
his daring spirit produced an inclination to engage in the po- 
litical affairs of Persia, then in an unsettled state. He was for 
some time engaged in war with the Turks, and then again with 
the Afghans. In aU circumstances he displayed military talents 
of the highest order, and wherever he went, victory followed 
his standard. For some pretended offence he seized the king of 
Persia, put him under restraint, and governed the country in the 
king's name. Having restored order in the kingdom and be- 
come popular in the army, in the plain of Maghan he assembled 
a great council, which including the army under his command, 
was said to amount to 100,000 men, and he was there pro- 
claimed king of Persia. He then put out the eyes of the late 
king Thamas or Tahmasp, so as to make him incapable of 
recovering his throne. Nadir Shah was himself of a restless 
spirit, and it was necessary to find employment for his army, 
and means to support them. The countries east of Persia were 
in an unsettled state, and he formed the purpose of adding 
Afghanistan to his dominions. While engaged in the siege of 
Candahar and Cabul, and subsequently in settling the affairs of 
these cities and their provinces, he sent several messages to 
IMohammed Shah then emperor of India, and he affected to be 
nmuch displeased with the manner in which they were received, 
and with the answers returned to him. Some Persians or 
Afghans who had incurred his displeasure, having taken refuge 
at Delhi, Nadir Shah sent an ambassador to demand that they 
should be delivered up to him. The ambassador and his escort 



HISTOKT — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 143 

were murdered at Jellallabad. This excited his rage, and he 
was soon on the way to inflict vengeance, and his army com- 
mitted shocking ravages on the inhabitants of the offending 
city. From Jellallabad he proceeded to Peshawur, and then to 
Lahore, without encountering any opposition to retard his pro- 
gress. The emperor, his army, and the inhabitants of Delhi 
were astonished to hear that Nadir Shah with his victorious 
army had already passed the Indus, and so was within the 
borders of the empire. Historians differ much in respect to the 
number of Nadir Shah's army. By some it is put at 160,000 
men, and by others at not more than half this number. From 
Lahore he proceeded on the way to Delhi. When the emperor 
became assured that the Persian army had entered India, he 
despatched against him all the force which could be collected. 
The two armies met and encountered a few marches from 
Delhi. The Indian army, hastily collected together, relaxed in 
disciplme and without experience in war, were no match for 
the disciplined Persians, who were inured to war and led by 
the greatest hero of that age. The Indian army was easily 
routed, and the commander-in-chief was slain. 

The emperor Mohammed Shah had no resource but submis- 
sion or flight, and he chose the former. He sent his vizier Azof 
Khan to the Persian camp, and he soon repaired there himself. 
Some negotiations ensued, and Nadir Shah agreed to spare the 
city and leave India upon receiving a definite sum of money. 
But some of the emperor's courtiers and counsellors interfered, 
and the city with its emperor and nobles, and all its riches and 
inhabitants, was at the mercy of the conqueror. Mohammed 
Shah was compelled to join the Persian camp, and accompany 
Nadir Shah on his march towards Delhi. On arriving at the 
city, the gates were opened to admit the Persian army, and the 
two sovereigns took up their residence in the royal palace. 
Nadu- Shah distributed his army in different parts of the city, 
and for two days strict order was observed. But the state of 
parties gave little promise of continued quiet and safetj^ The 
Persians were anxious to grasp the immense wealth now 
before them, as the reward of their long labors and sufferings, 
and the people of the city looldng upon them as ruthless invad- 
ers and plunderers, were in the spirit of seizing their arms and 



144 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

falling upon them. In the evening of the third day a report 
was circulated that Nadir Shah had been kiUed. The inhabi- 
tants began at once to attack the Persians wherever any could 
be found, and before morning several hundred were killed. As 
soon as there was sufficient light in the morning,' Nadir Shah 
mounted his horse and endeavored to suppress the tumult, but 
seeing many of the Persians murdered and being attacked him- 
self, he despatched his troops over the city, with orders to make 
a general massacre of the inhabitants. The Persians were 
accustomed to such work, and " the slaughter raged from sun- 
rise till the day was far advanced, and was attended with aU 
the horrors that could be inspired by rapine, lust, and thirst of 
vengeance. The city was set on fire in several places, and was 
soon involved in one scene of destruction, blood, and terror." 
While this terrible carnage was going on. Nadir Shah sat alone 
in gloomy silence, no one daring to speak to him. At length, 
Mohammed Shah and some of his nobles ventured before him, 
and entreated him to stop the carnage. He immediately issued 
orders, and before night all was quiet. Historians differ much 
in respect to the number who perished in this dreadful massacre, 
some accounts making it not more than 30,000, and others 
as many as 120,000. 

But the sufferings of the inhabitants were far from being at 
an end. Nadir Shah's object in invading India appears to have 
been to enrich himself and his army by plunder. To this work 
he now applied himself. He seized aU the imperial treasure, 
gold and silver, coined and bullion, jewels, precious stones, and 
whatever was valuable, which could be converted into money or 
carried away. He then seized the money, etc., of the nobles, 
bankers, and merchants. Guards were placed at all the gates 
to prevent any thing being carried out of the city. People of 
all classes were tortured to deliver up their money, or to disclose 
where it was. Many died under the tortures thus inflicted, and 
many kiUed themselves rather than suffer the tortures, losses, 
and disgrace that awaited them. To these miseries were soon 
added famine (the Persians consuming the provisions found in 
the city and the inhabitants of the country afraid to come to the 
city,) and pestilence occasioned by the great number of the slain 
which remained unburied. It is scarcely possible to conceive of 
a city in a more deplorable state than Dellii was at this time. 



HISTORY — THE MOnAMMEDAN" PEEIOD. 145 

Nadir Shah, having become satisfied that nothing further was 
to be obtained at Delhi, began to prepare for his departure. He 
requu-ed Mohammed Shah to cede to him all the provinces west 
of the Indus. He reinstated him on the throne of the empire. 
He arranged a marriage between one of his sons and a daugh- 
ter of the emperor. He enjoined aU the nobles to give implicit 
obedience to Mohammed Shah or to expect his future displeas- 
ure and vengeance, and having collected aU his treasure and 
plunder he departed. His stay at Delhi was 37 days,* and the 
amount of treasure,, jewels, and other property he carried away, 
has* been generally estimated at 320,000,000 rupees, or ^160,- 
000,000.1 

Nadir Shah lived 8 years after his return to Persia. He 
became so jealous and irritable, so excessively capricious and 
cruel, that no one of those around him felt he had any security for 
his own life for a single day. A conspiracy was formed to rid 
the w^orld of a tyrant no longer endurable, and he was assas- 
sinated in his tent. Immediately after his death, Ahmed Shah 
Abdallee, one of his most experienced generals, and who com- 
manded his Afghan troops, withdrew with the force under him 
to Candahar, and was there soon proclaimed king of Afghanistan. 
He was a skilful commander and had a large and well disci- 
plined army. He was of a restless and ambitious spirit, and 
soon began to interfere in the affairs of India. Mohammed 
Shah died in 1748, after a reign of 30 years. He was succeeded 
by his son Ahmed Shah, who after reigning 6 years, was 
deposed and blinded by Ghazee ud Deen, who elevated one of 
the royal family by the title of Aulumgheer II. to the throne, and 
then obtained for himself the office of vizier. In the third year 
of this emperor's reign, Ahmed Shah Abdallee invaded India 
and plundered Delhi. The horrors of Nadir Shah's invasion 
were repeated, and " the city again became a scene of rapine, 
violence, and murder." Several other cities in the same part of 
India were plundered, and the inhabitants were treated with 

* One account says that Nadir Shah remained at Delhi 58 days. 

f The statements of historians differ much in respect to the amount of this 
wealth. The lowest sum I have seen is 320,000,000 rupees, and the largest is 
1,250,000,000 rupees. The lowest estimate is a large sum, and the largest esti- 
mate appears to be incredible. A rupee is nearly half a dollar. 

13 



146 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

great barbarity. A violent sickness breaking out in his army, 
Ahmed Shah Abdallee was compelled to return to his own 
country. 

The distracted state of affairs at Delhi and in the provinces 
around it, invited such people as the Mahrattas and the Afghans 
to plunder and conquests. The Mahrattas were now at the 
zenith of their power, and formed a plan of extending their con- 
quest over all the northern parts of India. In pursuance of 
this plan, a large force proceeded into the central and northern 
provinces. Ahmed Shah AbdaUee, who abhorred idolatry and 
aU idolaters, had done much to destroy the Mogul empue, yet 
he was unwilling to see the Hindus extending their power over 
the true behevers. So he again invaded India and defeated the 
Mahratta force under Duttajee Scindia, and again under Mulhar 
Row Holkar, in both instances with great slaughter. These 
defeats excited strong feeling among the Mahrattas, and arrange- 
ments were made to send as soon as possible, a much larger 
army into the northern provinces. This force, after various 
changes, became concentrated at Panniput, about 40 miles 
north-west from Delhi. The entire number there assembled, 
including the cavahy, infantry, and artillery, and all the adven- 
turers and camp followers, are stated to have amounted to 
300,000. Ahmed Shah AbdaUee, who had been for some 
time encamped on the other side of Delhi, on learning the plans 
and movements of the Mahrattas, proceeded to the vicinity of 
Panniput and there encamped. His entire force is stated to 
have been 91,000 men. Of these 40,000 are said to have been 
Persians and Afghans, who had been inured to war all their 
lives, and the rest consisted of additions since he entered India. 

The two armies remained encamped near each other for 
nearly three months. Each army endeavored to cut off the sup- 
plies and convoys of the other. In this work the Afghans had 
more success than the Mahrattas, who on account of their great 
numbers and crowded state, began to suffer from famine and 
pestilence. These sufferings soon became so great that the 
Mahratta leaders resolved to risk a general battle, and orders 
were issued to prepare for it. The celebrated battle of Panni- 
put was fought in January of 1761. The Mahrattas were 
defeated with great slaughter. The pursuit was continued in 



HISTOET — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 147 

every direction for 15 or 20 miles, the Afghans slaughtering the 
Mahrattas wherever found. The inhabitants of the country 
around Panniput, to whom the Mahrattas had become odious 
on account of their extortions and arrogance, united with the 
Afghans in the pursuit and slaughter of their common enemies. 
The whole number who perished in the battle and pursuit, was 
estimated at 200,000. " Never was there a defeat more com- 
plete, and never was there a calamity that diffused more con- 
sternation." It was expected that Ahmed Shah AbdaUee would 
assume the empire of India. But for some reasons not known 
he made but Kttle use of this victory for his own advantage. 
Having made, or rather approved of some arrangements at 
Delhi for its future government, he returned to his own country 
and never again interfered in the affairs of India. 

The history of the Mohammedan empke in India may prop- 
erly close here. The power and influence of him who was 
called emperor from this time were Kttle beside the prestige of 
his name and titles, and the thought that possibly he or some one 
of his family might again recover their former power and great- 
ness. The battle of Plassey, which laid the foundation of the 
English power in India, was fought in 1757, or 4 years before 
the great battle of Panniput. So the Enghsh were now becom- 
ing prominent actors on the great field of Indian history, and 
might be reckoned one of the powers among which the country 
was divided. Hyder AK had now established his power in the 
southern part of the peninsula, having Seringapatam for his 
capital. The Nizam ul Mulk with Hyderabad for his capital, and 
the Mahrattas with Poona for their capital, had established their 
power in the Deckan. The Nabob of Oude and the Rajpoot 
princes were now virtuaEy independent. The history of these 
different powers, Mohammedan and Hindu, wiU come into view, 
so far as the limits of this work will admit of an account of 
them, in the European history of India. From the battle of 
Plassey in 1757, or of Panniput in 1761, the English became 
the most important and the rising power in India. 

The professed object of the Mohammedans in invading and 
conquering India, was the conversion of the inhabitants to the 
faith of their Prophet, and this object they openly avowed to 
the people of the country. But when their power had become 



148 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

established in the country, they lost much of their zeal for the 
propagation of their religion, and so long as the Hindus paid 
their tribute and their taxes, they were generally permitted qui- 
etly to practise their own superstitions. The Mohammedan 
emperors, princes, and nobles employed the Hindus in various 
ways, chiefly in matters of finance and revenue, in Vv^hich they 
have always excelled. The Mohammedans would alv/ays have 
preferred men of their own faith, and would often reward with 
honors or employments, converts from Hinduism. The influ- 
ence of the government in oriental countiies is generally great, 
and considering the power and the sphit of the Mohammedan 
governments and people, and the character and circumstances 
of the great body of the Hindus, it might naturally be expected 
that great numbers of the latter would embrace the religion of 
their conquerors and rulers in the long coujse of the 7 or 8 cen- 
turies of their power. But the general opinion is that not more 
than one eighth or one tenth of the whole population have ever 
been Mohammedans, and probably one half of these are the 
descendants of those who were Mohammedans when they came 
into the country. 

Should it appear strange how the Mohammedans, who have 
always formed so small a proportion of the population, could 
conquer and govern the country for so long a period, we must 
consider that the armies which invaded and conquered India, 
were large, that they were composed of men superior to the 
Hindus in physical strength, energy, and courage, that they were 
inured to war, and were in a state of high military discipHne ; 
that it was a sentiment of all the early Mohammedans that they 
ought not, and their determination that they would not, be sub- 
ject to idolators, that they seized and appropriated the wealth 
and resources of the country to their own use without scruple, 
that they always formed the mihtary class and composed nearly 
all the armed force of the empire, and that their armies were 
often reinforced by great numbers of daring and warlilte adven- 
turers from Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia. 

It was mentioned that, in the anarchy consequent upon the 
invasion of India, and subversion of the empire of Delhi, by 
Tamerlane, some of the Mohammedan governors of the prov- 
inces asserted their independence, assumed regal titles, and began 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 149 

to exercise the functions of kings. In this way Bengal became 
a kingdom, and continued under its own sovereigns for two cen- 
turies. Kulburga, Ahmednuggur, Beejapoor, Beder, and Gol- 
conda, became the capitals of small Mohammedan Idngdoms in 
the Deckan. So Gujerat, Candeish, and Scinde, became sepa- 
rate governments. Some of these provinces, or kingdoms as 
they were then called, maintained their independence for one, 
two, and even three centuries, but all at length became again 
subject to the emperor of Delhi, and provinces of the empire. 
The hmits of this work does not allow of giving any particular 
description of these kings and their governments. Nor does it 
appear to be necessary, as in then- general character and spirit 
they resembled the emperors of Delhi, though on a reduced 
scale. Their courts exhibited the intrigues, deceit, profligacy, 
assassinations, etc., so common in oriental governments. Some 
of these Mohammedan kings erected large palaces, mosques, 
and mausoleums, and some of the capitals of these former 
kingdoms are remarkable for splendid edifices, though now 
many of them are in ruins. There are such remains of former 
splendor at Beejapoor, Aurungabad, Ahmedabad, and other 
places.* 

* The writer saw many such monuments and ruins in different places in 
India. The following are extracts from his notes on some ruins at Beejapoor. 
"The Jumma Musjid, or great mosque is a splendid edifice, 290 feet long, and 
165 feet wide, and the two wings which project from the front corners are 210 
feet long, and 45 feet wide. The roof consists of one large dome in the centre, 
and many smaller ones in rows, supported by pillars united at the top by arches. 
The Kebla, or principal place for prayer, contains many extracts from the Koran, 
beautifully carved in stone, and the letters covered with gold. This immense 
structure in its design and execution displays much genius and skill. It is built 
of stone or brick and lime, no wood appearing to be used in any part of it. 
This mosque was erected nearly 300 years ago, and is in a state of good preser- 
vation. 

" The mausoleum of Sultan Mohammed is an immense pile, 240 feet square. 
The interior is one vast room, covered by a single dome. Th& tombs of the 
royal founder and his family are in the centre under the dome. At each corner 
of the mausoleum and contiguous to it, is a minaret, containing a spiral staircase 
ascending through 8 stories to the top, where a passage leads through the dome 
at its base. The inside view of the edifice at the base of the dome, appeared to 
be more sublime than at any other point. 

" Some cannon here deserve a passing notice. One of these is of brass, and 
its weight is more than 40 tons. The diameter of the muzzle is 4 feet 8 inches, 

13* 



150 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Mr. Mill, in his History of British India, at the conclusion of 
the Mohammedan period, attempts to show at considerable 
length, that India must have gained much in civiKzation, 
humanity, etc., from the Mohammedan conquest and govern- 
ment of the country. The reasons he gives for this opinion 
are, that the Mohammedans were in many respects superior to 
the Hindus : — as, 1. In their classification and distribution of 
the people ; 2. Their form of government ; 3. Their laws ; 4. 
The taxes ; 5. Their religion ; 6. Their manners ; 7. Their lit- 
erature.* Mr. MiU was never in India, and so could have had 
no personal acquaintance with the classes of people, or the gov- 
ernments he has described. In his accounts of the' Hindus, their 
customs, manners, religion, etc., he shows in many places a 
strong prejudice against them, while he gives too favorable a 
view of the state and character of the Mohammedan popula- 
tion. If we admit that the Mohammedans who invaded India, 
were superior to the Hindus in all the respects he has mentioned, 
stiU it will not follow that they communicated these benefits to 
the inhabitants of the country. Had the Mohammedans em- 
braced the religion they found in India, as the Goths and Van- 
dals embraced the religion of the southern nations of Europe, 
which they conquered, or if the Hindus had become Moham- 
medans, as the inhabitants of Persia did, so as in either case to 
have formed a homogeneous population, then a superior state of 
civilization would probably have been the result. But no such 
union or amalgamation took place. The Mohammedans did 
not unite with the Hindus, and only a small portion of the Hin- 
dus, and those generally persons of low caste became Moham- 
medans. The two classes continued to be separate and distinct 
for generations and for centuries, with as little knowledge of 

and tlie diameter of the calibre is nearly 30 inches. ' A cast-iron ball for this 
cannon would weigh 2,646 pounds.' This cannon was cast at Ahmednuggur in 
1569. It was part of the spoils of war, taken by the king of Beejapoor in a 
battle near Purinda, and carried thence to Beejapoor. On one of the bastions 
of the fort is an iron cannon with a muzzle of 4 feet a,nd 3 inches, and a calibre 
21 inches. On a high mound or tower, nearly in the centre of the city, is an 
iron cannon, more than 30 feet long, with a calibre of 13 inches. These two 
last mentioned are made of bars of iron hooped round and welded so as to make 
a compact mass." 

* History of British India, vol. 1, p. 625-648. 4to edition. 



HISTORY — THE MOHAMMEDAN PERIOD. 151 

each other, as little respect for each other, and as little influence 
upon each other, as there could weU be between different classes 
of people in such circumstances. 

The Mohammedan invasions of India from a.d. 1000 to 
1200, destroying idols, demolishing temples, plundering, mas- 
sacring, and enslaving the inhabitants, produced incalculable 
evils and miseries. From A. D. 1200, or the establishment of the 
Mohammedan power in Delhi, to the invasion of Tamerlane in 
1399, or to the invasion of Baber in 1526, the character and 
spirit of the Mohammedans and the oppressed and suffering 
state of the Hindus, who were then more than nine tenths of 
the population, do not exhibit a favorable view of the effects of 
the government. It is not easy to believe that the general state 
of India, the state and ckcumstances of more than nine tenths 
of the people, were in any way improved during this period by 
the Mohammedan government of the country. Nor was the 
state of the Hindu population much if any improved during 
the reigns of Baber and Humayoon. In the reigns of Acber, 
Jehangheer, Shah Jehan, and Aurungzeb, a period of 140 years, 
the Mohammedan power was extended and consolidated. And 
yet during this period there were often wars of a religious char- 
acter, which were carried on, as such wars always are, with 
great barbarity and cruelty. Nor did such wars and the spirit 
engendered by them cease with the dissolution of the empire of 
Delhi, consequent upon the death of Aurungzeb. A strong 
spirit of fanaticism pervaded the government of Tippoo Sultan, 
of the Mahrattas, and of Ahmed Shah Abdallee, producing per- 
secution and oppression, wars and revolutions. The Moham- 
medan courts, government agents, and armies may have had a 
higher state of civilization than any Hindu courts, agents, or 
armies, but they had little influence upon the state and circum- 
stances of the Hindus, who were always the great body of the 
inhabitants, and who were often suffering in various ways from 
the proselyting efforts and haughty spirit of their rulers. 



152 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ETJEOPEAN PEEIOD. 

DISCOVERIES AND CONQUESTS OF THE PORTUaUESB. 

The 15th century is remarkable for great events, inventions, 
and discoveries. The invention of the art of printing and the 
capture of Constantinople united in producing the revival of 
letters among the nations of Europe, while their discovery of 
America and of the passage round Africa to the southern coun- 
tries of Asia and its islands, spread out before them the world for 
conquest and commerce. In the early part of this century the 
Portuguese were far in advance of any other nation in maritime 
discovery. In 1413 they discovered the Islands of Madeira, and 
in 1454 they reached Senegal. In accordance v/ith the spirit of 
the age, the propagation of Christianity was avowed as the 
leading object in prosecuting these discoveries. And to excite 
greater interest in such enterprises among his people, Prince 
Henry applied to the Pope, setting forth that the propagation 
of the Christian faith, the enlargement of the Holy See, and 
the salvation of the heathen in the countries discovered, had 
been and would continue to be his great object, and sohciting 
for his nation exclusive rights and privileges. Eugene IV. who 
then filled the Holy See, and who, as the vicegerent of Christ, 
professed to have power to dispose of all parts of the earth as 
he pleased, strongly commended the zeal of the king and his 
people, and issued a buU exhorting them to continue in the 
same glorious career, and granting them exclusive right to aU 
the countries they should discover from Cape Non to the con- 
tinent of India. This grant not only infused new ardor into 
the Portuguese nation, but as it was not supposed in that age 
that the Holy Father had exceeded his power, it prevented all 
the other nations of Europe from in any way- interfering with 
the rights of the crown of Portugal to aU the discoveries they 
might make. 

In 1484 the Portuguese reached the coast of Congo, and 



HISTOHY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 153 

finding the coast there turned towards the east, supposed they 
must have nearly reached the southern limit of the continent. 
This hope induced John 11. to send out three vessels under Bar- 
tholomew Diaz, an experienced and skilful officer, who encoun- 
tered much tempestuous weather, and was carried so far into the 
Southern Ocean that in sailing back in search of land he 
reached the continent near its southern extremity. Diaz would 
gladly have prosecuted his voyage on the eastern side, but his 
officers and crew all insisted upon returning home, and he was 
obhged to yield to their wishes. The king, on hearing a descrip- 
tion of their discovery, named the point of land the Cape of 
Good Hope, which it has ever since retained. AjSairs of a 
more urgent nature occupied the time of John tiU his death in 
1495. In the mean time maritime enterprise had received a 
new impulse from the discovery of America in 1492 by Colum- 
bus. Emanuel, who had succeeded John, now resolved to pros- 
ecute discovery with increasing ardor. He caused several ves- 
sels to be prepared in superior style, and intrusted the expedi- 
tion to Vasco de Gama, a member of the royal household, and 
who had acquhed a high reputation for nautical skill and enter- 
prise. No previous expedition had excited so much interest and 
60 high expectations. When all the preparations had been 
completed, Gama received his instructions from the king in 
open court, with a consecrated silk banner, and a letter to the 
mysterious Prester John, who it was supposed was then reign- 
ing somewhere in Southern Asia. Previous to embarking, all 
the officers assembled in the church and received the sacrament, 
and the priests and monks accompanied them to the ships, bear- 
ing wax tapers and chanting prayers. All the sailors went 
through the ceremonies of confession and absolution, as a suit- 
able preparation for so uncertain and dangerous an expedition. 

Gama sailed from Lisbon on the 8th of July, 1497, but as he 
stopped at several places on the coast they did not reach the 
southern extremity of the continent till November, and when 
they changed their course for India, they celebrated the event 
with religious services and great rejoicings, an event in modern 
discovery only exceeded by the discovery of America. 

Gama then proceeded along the eastern coast, endeavoring 
where he could, to hold intercourse with the inhabitants and 



154 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

obtain all possible information concerning the countries and 
their inhabitants, till he reached Mozambique. Here they found 
another class of people, professing the Mohammedan religion, 
wearing turbans, and clothed in cotton, sUk, and velvet. The 
Portuguese were now in high spirits, as they appeared to 
be approaching the rich and civilized nations of India, of 
whom they had heard such marvellous accounts. Their inter- 
course with the inhabitants at Mozambique was for some 
time of a friendly character, but the Mohammedans, on learnmg 
who the Portuguese were and their objects in coming to the 
East, became jealous of them, and were soon detected in plans 
for cutting them off. Having obtained a pilot, Gama proceeded 
to Mombas, where the people at firsi appeared very friendly, but 
soon became hostile and made repeated attempts to surprise his 
ships and cut their cables. From Mombas, Gama proceeded to 
Melinda, which is described as a well-built and beautiful city, 
surrounded by numerous gardens and forests of palm-trees. 
The Idng was a Mohammedan, who lived in regal splendor and 
invited Gama to visit him in his palace. But Gama, remember- 
ing the treachery manifested by the same class of people in the 
ports he had left, pretended that the king of Portugal had strictly 
forbidden him to go on shore, and proposed a meeting in boats. 
The king accepted this proposal, and he and Gama had an 
interview in this manner. He made many inquiries about the 
vessels and also about the long of Portugal, his army, the num.- 
ber of his ships of war, etc. When an image of Mary was ex- 
hibited to some Hindu merchants who were on board, they wor- 
shipped it with a readiness and veneration which greatly 
surprised the Portuguese. Probably this image was taken for 
an idol of some Hindu goddess, or their veneration may have 
originated in their superstitious reverence for any object of 
worship. 

Having obtained a pilot who had often been to India, Gama 
left the coast of Africa and steered his course for Calicut. In 23 
days they descried the mountains of India, and soon after 
reached Calicut, the place above aU others which they wished 
to see. At this time the northern parts of India were subject to 
the Mohammedans, but the southern parts, or nearly ail south 
of the Deckan, was subject to different Hindu sovereigns. 



niSTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 155 

Among the latter, the Idng of CaKcut, who had the title of 
Zamorin, or king of kings, was conspicuous. The commerce 
of the western coast of India with the Red Sea and the Persian 
Gulf, was chiefly in the hands of the Mohammedans who had 
originally come from those places, and of proselytes to their 
faith from the Hindus. Aware from his past experience of 
the treachery of this class of people, Gama first sent on shore 
his pilot and a criminal, who had been sentenced to death 
in Portugal, and brought out to be employed in cases of peculiar 
peril. On their return to the ship the next day, a man accom- 
panied them, who said he was a native of Tunis, where he was 
acquainted with many Portuguese and had professed Christian- 
ity. He accosted Gama in a cordial manner, and expressed his 
feelings as being glad to see them in a country abounding in 
precious stones, spices, drugS, and all the most valuable articles 
of commerce. The Zamorin was at that time absent from 
CaKcut, but was expected to return in a few days, when Gama 
was encouraged to expect a very friendly reception. In these 
circumstances many things conspu-ed to excite the interest and 
wonder of the Portuguese. On one occasion a party of them 
being on shore, and being near a large pagoda which had some- 
what the appearance of a church, they were invited into the 
vestibule, and supposing the images they saw around them 
might be those of the Apostles and saints, they began to pros- 
trate themselves in adoration. One of them, however, more 
inquisitive or less superstitious than the rest, examined the fig- 
ures more carefully, and observing that some of them were of 
hideous and monstrous forms, having 4 or 5 hands and arms, 
several faces, etc., he exclaimed, " If these are devils, then it is 
God whom I worship." An examination of the idols by the 
rest of the company soon brought their worship to a close. 

The Zamorin received Gama with much oriental pomp, and 
for considerable time manifested a friendly disposition. But the 
Mohammedans, jealous of this interference with the trade 
which had been so long in their hands, and averse to all na- 
tions professing the Christian faith, soon succeeded in exciting 
prejudices against the Portuguese, and formed plans for effecting 
then- ruin. They excited the superstitious fears of the Hindus by 
predicting approaching ruin, and declared Gama and all his 



156 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

company to be pirates, who subsisted by plundering and destroy- 
ing ships and cities wherever they had been, and who would 
continue to pursue the same course wherever they went. 
Gama was once kept in arrest as a prisoner for some time, and 
soon after he was released, Diaz and another of his officers were 
put into confinement. He at length effected their release by seiz- 
ing a considerable number of natives and detaining them till his 
own men were restored. He then left CaKcut, forcibly carrying 
with him several of the men whom he had arrested. These he 
intended to take with him to Portugal, so that they might 
return with the next expedition and inform their countrymen 
of the power and glory of the Portuguese nation. This con- 
duct in Gama was impolitic as weU as unjust, and excited great 
indignation against the Portuguese wherever it became known 
to the people of India. In four months he reached the coast 
of Africa at Magadoxo, and passing the Cape of Good Hope, he 
reached Lisbon in August, having been absent 2 years and 2 
months. Of the 108 mariners he took with him, only 55 
returned to their native land. On reaching Lisbon, Gama 
and his men went to the same church in which rehgious cer- 
emonies were performed previous to their embarkation, and 
they spent 8 days in ceremonies, services, and the worship of 
Mary. He then made his pubhc entrance into Lisbon with 
great pomp ; the king bestowed upon him a title of nobihty and 
liberal rewards for his services. 

The return of Gama and the accounts he gave of his voyage 
and of the wonders he had seen, produced a strong excitement 
through aU Portugal. A fleet of 13 ships and carrying 1,200 
men, was prepared with aU possible despatch. This expedition 
was intrusted to Alvarez Cabral, a man every way qualified for 
such an important enterprise. The conversion of the nations 
discovered, v/as not forgotten, and so 8 Franciscan friars accom- 
panied the expedition, who were instructed, if we are to beheve 
De Barros, " to carry fire and sword into every nation who 
would not Hsten to their preaching." This armament sailed 
in March of 1500, and on their way to the Cape of Good Hope, 
proceeded so far to the west that they discovered the coast of 
Brazil, ^vhich subsequently became the most important of aU 
the Portuguese foreign possessions. When near the Cape of 



HISTOET — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 157 

Good Hope, he was involved for nearly two months in very 
stormy weather ; he lost several of his ships, and had only 3 
with him when he passed round the Cape. He followed the 
coast of Africa, like his predecessor, till he reached Melinda, and 
then proceeded directly to Calicut. He restored the captives 
carried away by his predecessor, who were well clothed, and 
gave a wonderful account of what they had seen in Europe. 
After some delay and trouble in arranging preliminaries, Cabral 
obtained an interview with the Zamorin, who received him in 
apparently a Mendly manner, and gave the Portuguese permis- 
sion to establish a factory in CaUcut. Thus far all appeared to 
be promising, but the Mohammedans soon began in various 
ways to oppose them and to embarrass their operations. Cabral 
after suffering their annoyance for some time, seized one of their 
ships richly laden with spices, and transferred its cargo to his 
own ships. The Mohammedans made their complaints to the 
Zamorin, representing that the Portuguese had now shown 
themselves in their true character of robbers and pirates. The 
Zamorin either gave, or was understood to give, permission to 
seek redress in any way they might choose. Collecting some 
force they made an attack upon the factory so suddenly, that 
there was barely time to close the gates against them. Correa, 
who was in charge, arranged his men on the roof to make the 
best defence they could, but whUe his force consisted of only 
70 men, their assailants consisted of several thousands. A part 
of the wall was battered down, the assailants entered the fac- 
tory, put 50 of the Portuguese to death, and the rest leaped into 
the sea and swam to their boats. 

Cabral, not appreciating the provocation he had given, was 
very indignant at this loss of the factory and so many of his 
men, and hearing that the Zamorin was participating in the 
plunder, he resolved to make retaliation and reprisals. He seized 
10 Mohammedan ships, and having transferred their cargoes to 
his own vessels, arranged them in order for greater effect on the 
people, and set them on fire. At the same time he opened a 
cannonade on the city, which set it on fire in several places. 
All further amicable intercourse with the king and people at 
Cahcut was at an end, and Cabral sailed for Cochin. Here he 
had an audience with the prince, who received him in a Mendly 

14 



158 IlsTDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

manner. This prince was a vassal of the Zamorin of Calicut, 
and being then involved in some difficulties with his sovereign, 
was probably for this reason more ready to cultivate the 
acquaintance of the Portuguese. Cabral here succeeded in 
completing his cargoes, and returned to Lisbon. But of the 13 
ships he took with him only 6 retm-ned ; all the rest were lost. 

The accounts which Cabral and his company gave of their 
adventures, and of the countries and nations they had seen, pro- 
duced a strong sensation through the kingdom. Revenge for 
supposed injuries, desire of conquest and of foreign possessions, 
zeal for propagating the Christian faith, and the hope of gain 
by a profitable commerce, aU conspned to enfist the feefings of 
the nation. The Pope, too, had conferred on Portugal the 
dominion of aU the eastern countries which her fleets might dis- 
cover, and so the king thought it was right for him to take pos- 
session, peaceably if he could, and if not, then by conquest, and 
then it was his duty to convert the inhabitants to the Romish 
faith. The king assumed the lofty title of " Lord of the Navi- 
gation, Conquest, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, 
and India." The most vigorous measm-es were taken to pre- 
pare a force that would be able to subdue any opposing power, 
and a fleet of 15 ships soon sailed from Lisbon, under the com- 
mand of Vasco de Gama. A part of this fleet was designed 
to blockade the Red Sea so effectually as to stop all the trade 
carried on by the Mohammedans between its ports and India. 
The Mohammedans had so uniformly manifested an unfriendly 
spirit towards the Portuguese, and been apparently the exciting 
cause of their troubles in so many different places, that Gama 
appears to have resolved to treat them everywhere as enemies. 
The general prejudice which then pervaded the nation against 
all who professed this faith, had probably also some influence 
on Gama and all under him. He had an opportunity of soon 
showing this spirit, for on approaching the coast of Lidia, he 
seized a large Mohammedan vessel, and having taken out all 
that was valuable, he shut up the crew in the hold and set the 
ship on fire. Lafiteau says that 300 persons thus perished, 
among whom were many pilgrims on their way to Mecca. On 
arriving at Calicut, and fafiing to obtain such redress as he 
■demanded, Gama collected 50 natives from ships he had seized, 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 159 

and holding an hour-glass in his hand told the messenger that 
unless his demands were satisfied before all the sand should run 
out, he would cause all these men to be put to death. And no 
answer having been received within the time specified, the 50 
men were put to death. He also mutilated several natives who 
were then on board his ships by cutting off a hand or foot, and 
then sending them ashore. One account says he treated 50 
fishermen in this way. He then bombarded the city for some 
time, causing great destruction of life and property. Gama 
then proceeded to Cochin, where he was received in a friendly 
manner. It was not long before a brahmin of venerable age 
and appearance, and very plausible and insinuating in his 
address, arrived at Cochin, with a message from the Zamorin to 
Cabral. The brahmin, having understood that the Portuguese 
were anxious to convert the people of India to their own faith, 
began by making some inquiries about Christianity, for which 
he professed to have great admiration, and was only v/ishing for 
some further instruction before he would publicly embrace it. 
He then assured Gama that the Zamorin was very sorry for aU 
that had occurred at Calicut, that he was willing to make any 
redress for the injuries which had been suffered, and to renev/ 
friendly relations and amicable intercourse with the Portuguese. 
By these means Gama was induced to return to Calicut, but 
instead of having an audience with the Zamorin as he expected, 
he found his ship surrounded with 36 war proas, filled with 
armed men, who aheady considered him as their prisoner. Per- 
ceiving his danger, he cut the cable of his ship, and the wind 
being in his favor he succeeded in extricating his ship from her 
perilous state and returned to Cochin. He then cruised about 
for some time, took and plundered several ships with valuable 
cargoes, and having stationed part of his squadron at the 
entrance of the Red Sea to intercept the trade of the Moham- 
medans, he returned to Portugal. 

As soon as the Zamorin heard that Gama and his fleet had 
gone, he prepared to chastise the king of Cochin who was his 
vassal, for receiving and treating the Portuguese in so friendly a 
manner, and for assisting them in procuring cargoes, provisions, 
etc. He assembled a large army, and proceeding to Cochin, 
demanded that the Portuguese in charge of the factory Gama 



160 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

had established there, should be dehvered up to him, and that 
the Idng should engage to have no more intercourse or con- 
nection with any of the Portuguese nation. The king of 
Cochin was determined to preserve the alliance he had formed, 
and defended his city with much gallantry. But he was over- 
powered by the superior force of the Zamorin, and with the 
agents of the factory and some of liis friends he was compelled 
to take refuge on the island of Vipeen. This island was then 
one of the sacred places on the coast and was easUy defended. 
The king, his aUies and friends, continued here, though re- 
duced to great distress, tiU they were relieved by the arrival of 
some ships from Portugal. The Zamorin seeing the Portuguese 
had returned, soon evacuated the city and returned to Cahcut, 
and the king of Cochin, aided by the Portuguese, soon recovered 
his capital, and was reinstated in his dominions. Albuquerque, 
who had the charge of the Portuguese fleet, went to Cahcut 
and opened negotiations for peace and commerce with the 
Zamorm, but the exorbitant demands of the Portuguese, and 
the losses, injuries, and wrongs which the Zamorin and his sub- 
jects had suffered, did not admit of any permanent and satisfac- 
tory adjustment. So Albuquerque left a few hundred men at 
Cochin under Duarte Pacheco, to guard the capital of his ally, 
and returned to Europe. 

The Zamorin now resolved to make another attempt to chas- 
tise his refractory vassal, and to prevent the Portuguese from 
acquiring any secure hold in the country. He collected his no- 
bles and his aUies, and many Mohammedans viewmg their 
interests as largely involved in the issue, engaged in the war. 
The army amounted to 50,000 men, and the vessels to 160. 
Two Itahan adventurers, who had come to India by way of the 
Red Sea, undertook to cast cannon, and introduce into the 
Zamorin's army the latest improvements of Em'opean warfare. 
The force collected was so large and the preparations by land 
and sea were so formidable, that the affairs of the king of Co- 
chin appeared desperate to his friends generally as vi^ell as to 
his enemies. In these feehngs the long participated, and inti- 
mated to the Portuguese commander that resistance would be 
quite useless, and the choice before them was unconditional 
submission or death. To his surprise he fovmd Pacheco, instead 



HISTOET — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 161 

of being discouraged, was confident that if the forces of 
the king would do their part, he could repel the vast army then 
surrounding them. The king was so much pleased with the 
spirit which Pacheco showed, that he intrusted to him the 
entire management of the war. Pacheco made a judicious ar- 
rangement of the forces under his command, and securing for 
himself every advantage which the state of the city and then- 
circumstances admitted, he awaited the onset of the enemy. 
The attack was made on the sea and land. The forces of the 
king as soon as they saw the vast army approaching, ghttering 
with armor and loudly shouting, were seized with a panic and 
fled for safety. But the Portuguese repelled the attack with 
such coolness and valor, and poured upon their enemies such a 
destructive fire that they were finally beaten and retreated. 
Attacks were afterwards made several times in which the Por- 
tuguese suffered the loss of several brave men, but the loss of 
the Zamorin was fearfully great. His army becoming dis- 
heartened, and sickness raging in his camp, he gave up all hope 
of success and returned to Calicut. 

This war, though of so short duration, probably exerted 
more influence than any other in the history of European war- 
fare in India. Indeed, it may be regarded as having laid the 
foundation of European empire in southern Asia. It was now 
manifest that the vast armies which oriental sovereigns bring 
into the field, can effect little in the way of conquest or defence, 
when opposed to men of cool valor, thorough discipline, and 
under the command of brave and experienced officers. This 
opinion encouraged the Portuguese, and afterwards the English, 
Dutch, and French, in their spirit of conquest and daring adven- 
ture, though it sometimes led small bodies of Europeans to 
put themselves in circumstances of great peril, and in some 
instances, probably, of certain destruction. 

In 1505, the king of Portugal sent a large fleet under Fran- 
cisco Almeida, on whom he conferred the title of viceroy of 
India. From this time the Portuguese had generally a large 
fleet in the Indian seas, and they became the terror of all places 
on the coast, and of all ships on the seas which had sufficient 
wealth to be a temptation to their avarice. The Sultan of 
Egypt, who derived a large revenue from the trade between 

14* 



162 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

his dominions and India, and whose ships the Portuguese had 
often plundered, sent a large fleet to protect his trade and to 
inflict merited revenge for the injuries which Ms subjects and 
others of his faith had suffered. The Egyptian flotilla found a 
squadron of the Portuguese fleet near Choul, about 30 miles 
south from Bombay. The two fleets here engaged in conflict, 
wliich was continued for several days, and resulted in the defeat 
of the Portuguese and the death of their commander, who was a 
son of Almeida. The viceroy resolved to avenge the death of 
his son, and destroy the Egyptian fleet, or compel the ships to 
return to the Red Sea. He had prepared a fleet of 19 ships 
and was nearly ready to sail, when Albuquerque arrived from 
Portugal with a large reinforcement, and showed a commission 
appointing himself viceroy. Almeida was indignant at being 
thus superseded in power at such a time, and having learned 
that his officers would support him in refusing obedience in 
such pecuUar circumstances, he told Albuquerque that he was 
determmed to continue in the command of the fleet till he had 
avenged the death of his son and destroyed the Egyptian fleet, 
or driven them aU from the Indian seas. Albuquerque remon- 
strated, but all was in vain, for he had no means to enforce 
obedience, and so Almeida sailed on his expedition. While on 
his way, learning that Dabool, a place of large trade on the 
coast, had espoused the cause of the Egyptians, he made a furi- 
ous attack upon it, and got possession of the fort and the city. 
He first gave up the whole place to plunder and massacre, and 
then set the city on fire. " The streets streamed with blood, the 
fire raged furiously, and in a few hours there remamed of this 
magnificent city only a pile of smoking wood and ashes. The 
shipping in the harbor was also consumed." * Almeida then 

* The Jesuit Lafiteau describing the capture of Dabool says, " The Portuguese 
spared neither age nor sex. The wife of the Governor himself could not pur- 
chase his life with the offer of all her riches. The insolent conquerors fell 
with such savage fury upon the miserable inhabitants that they took pleasure in 
tearing children from the bosom of their mothers and dashing their brains out 
against the walls ; so that their cruelty has passed into a proverb in Hindustan, 
the Hindus in their imprecations being accustomed to say, ' JSIay the wrath of 
the Feringhis fall upon thee, as it fell upon Dabool." When at length they were 
glutted with murder, they thought of nothing but satiating their avarice, and 



HISTORY — THE EUEOPEAN PERIOD. 163 

proceeded to the Gulf of Cambay in search of the Egyptian 
fleet, and found it near the island of Diu. The Portuguese 
attacked the Egyptians, sunk or seized all the large ships and 
obtained great booty. Almeida compelled the Egyptian ad- 
miral to deliver up all the European prisoners, and he then set 
sail for Cochin. When near Cannanore, he ordered a general 
massacre of all the prisoners on board his ships. Such wanton 
cruelty excited great dread of Portuguese power, and the ab- 
horrence of men who appeared to dehght in murder and mas- 
sacre. 

On returning to Cochin, Almeida reluctantly resigned his 
power into the hands of Albuquerque, and soon after sailed for 
Portugal. When passing along the southern coast of Africa, he 
went ashore with some of his men, who becoming involved in a 
quarrel with the natives, he interfered and received a wound 
which soon proved mortal. Albuquerque now duly invested 
with the power of viceroy, proceeded to carry into effect the 
plans of conquest he had formed. He failed in an attack on 
Calicut, where in a severe conflict "he was so stunned by 
repeated blows, that he remained for some time apparently 
dead, but his followers carried him off; he revived and slowly 
recovered." In 1510 he took Goa. The prince to whom it 
belonged, made vigorous attempts to recover it and expel the 
Portuguese, but after much severe fighting and great loss on 
both sides, Albuquerque retained possession of the place. He 
erected strong fortifications, and made it the capital of all the 
Portuguese dominions in the Indian seas. He next took Ma- 
lacca, then a place of large trade with the eastern archipelago. 
His attempts to take Aden failed, but he succeeded in obtain- 
ing possession of Ormuz, then the chief emporium of commerce 
in the Persian Gulf. 

Albuquerque greatly enlarged the power of the Portuguese in 
India, and his government has always been regarded as the 
most successful and brilliant period in their eastern history. Suc- 
ceeding viceroys were animated by a similar spmt, and were 

Almeida, before lie could get them away, was obliged to set fire to the town and 
thus put the finishing stroke to the destruction of all that had escaped the 
hands of the rapacious soldiery." 



164 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

almost constantly engaged in some warlike enterprise. No one 
of the Em-opean nations interfered with the Portuguese for a 
centmy after they commenced then* conquests in the East, and 
so they had only the native powers to contend with. These 
wars were often carried on with great cruelty and barbarity. 
The Portuguese were superior to the native powers in the con- 
struction and management of their ships. They were also 
superior in the quality of their guns and other materials of war, 
and they had more skill in using them. It was then- custom to 
seize and plunder all ships trading without a license from them, 
and if any city or town refused to allow them such privileges as 
they demanded, or to carry on trade "with them on such terms 
as they dictated, they attacked and plundered all such places as 
far as they could. In 1500, " they attacked Calicut, then the 
most commercial city on the Malabar coast, seized the ships of 
the king, burnt many richly laden in the harbor, and made 
slaves of the crews." In 1502, " they again attacked Calicut, 
burning the palace and many houses, and seized several ships, 
with rich cargoes, in the harbor." In 1505 " they again attacked 
the city and reduced a large part of it to ashes. They also took 
Cranganore and burned it. The king of Quiloa refusing to pay 
them tribute, they seized and plundered the town. In 1507 
they took Mombas by storm, and made slaves of the inhabi- 
tants. They also burnt down and destroyed the shipping in the 
harbor." In 1507, " they took Muscat, and committed great 
ravages on the towns upon the coast of Africa, plundering and 
burning aU places where the chiefs refused to become tributary." 
In 1508, " Brena was plundered and burnt, and great cruelties 
were inflicted upon the inhabitants." In 1509, " Calicut was 
again attacked, and was taken, plundered, and burnt." In 
1510, " Goa was attacked and taken by the Portuguese, but being 
soon after recovered by its native sovereign, was again seized, 
and the whole garrison put to the sword." In the same year 
they also " plundered and destroyed Zanzibar." In 1511, " they 
took Malacca by storm, and plundered the city." In 1512, 
" they seized and plundered Surat." In 1516, " Zeyla was 
taken and burnt by them." In 1526 and 1527, " they plundered 
and destroyed Doofar and Massowa, and plundered and burnt 
Mangalore, Porcia, and Chitwa." In 1530, they again "bm'nt 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 165 

Surat and several villages," and the next year they " destroyed 
Gogo, Pate, Mangarole, and most of the other tow^ns on the 
coast of Gujerat." 

Such instances show the spuit and manner in which the 
Portuguese carried on their wars of aggression, which were con- 
tinued through the government of several successive viceroys. 
In 1536, a powerful combination was formed against the Portu- 
guese. The kings of Cambay and Gujerat raised an army of 
more than 20,000 men, and the Sultan of Egypt sent 70 galleys, 
containing 8,000 Turkish soldiers and a powerful train of artil- 
lery from Suez. The chief place of conflict was Diu, then in 
the possession of the Portuguese. At one time the affau-s of 
the Portuguese appeared to be desperate-, but they defended 
themselves with such valor, perseverance, and skill, that the 
combination failed to accomplish their purpose, and Diu re- 
mained in the possession of the Portuguese. In 1570, a yet 
more powerful combination was formed against them by the 
Zamorin of CaKcut, Adil Shah, king of Beejapoor, and Nizam 
Murtezza, king of Ahmednuggur. At this time Goa was the prin- 
cipal place of attack, and the united force collected against it 
was estimated to exceed 100,000 men. This siege of Goa is 
one of the most memorable in the annals of European warfare 
in India. After a siege of nearly 2 years and great loss on both 
sides, the siege was abandoned, and the native powers returned 
to their own capitals. The Portuguese at one time possessed 
Sofala, Mozambique, and Mombas on the eastern coast of 
Africa ; Aden and Muscat in Arabia ; Ormuz and Bussora in 
the Persian Gulf; Diu, Damaun, Basseen, Salsette, Bombay, 
Choul, Dabool, Goa, Onore, Barcelore, Mangalore, Cannanore, 
Cranganore, Calicut, Cochin, and Quilon on the western coast of 
India. On the eastern coast they had Negapatam, St. Thome, 
and Mausalapatam, and they had several places in Bengal; 
they had also a considerable part of Ceylon. These posses- 
sions were all subject in civil and mihtary matters to the viceroy, 
who lived at Goa. The archbishop of Goa was over them 
in all ecclesiastical affairs. 

In 1580, Portugal was annexed to the crown of Spain, and 
the two crowns continued united till 1640. During this time 
the Spanish possessions in America chiefly engaged the atten- 



166 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

tion of the government, and the possessions acquired by the 
Portuguese in the East were neglected. From this time the 
power of Portugal in the East declined, and she gradually- 
lost most of her possessions, some to the Dutch, who took 
Cochin, Ceylon, and Nagapatam, and some to the native 
powers. The Portuguese dominions in the East are now 
limited to a few places of small population and no political 
importance, and a Portuguese ship is now seldom seen in the 
Indian seas. 

Near the close of the 16th century, Holland took its place 
among the nations of Europe, and soon acquired the first rank 
as a maritime power. They first attempted to proceed to the 
East Indies by the Arctic Ocean, but after making three unsuc- 
cessful efforts, a fleet of several ships proceeded round the Cape 
of Good Hope in 1576. The Dutch were soon engaged largely 
in eastern trade, and contended with the Portuguese for suprem- 
acy in the Indian seas. This was the first interference which the 
Portuguese experienced fi:om any European power, and the 
eastern nations then saw the only two Christian nations of 
whom they had any knowledge, engaged in violent war with 
each other. The ships of each nation seized and plundered 
those of the other, wherever they could be found. The conflict 
was chiefly in the islands and places east and south-east from 
India, where the Dutch soon gained the ascendency and still 
have large possessions. They also took Ceylon, Cochin, Nega- 
patam, and some other places from the Portuguese in India. 

COMMERCE AND CONQUESTS OP THE ENGLISH. 

The first attempts of English navigators to reach India were 
made through the Arctic Ocean, by Sir Hugh WiUoughby, Fro- 
bisher, and others. In 1577, Sir Francis Dre^ke commenced his 
voyage round the world, passing through the Straits of Magellan 
and returning by the Cape of Good Hope. While on the west- 
ern coast of South America, he made prizes of several richly 
laden Spanish ships, and brought home with him great wealth. 
His success produced great excitement, and a strong spirit for dis- 
covery and foreign commerce. Queen EKzabeth visited him on 
board Ms ship, and conferred upon him the honor of knighthood. 



HISTOET — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 167 

Li 1583, some enterprising travellers and merchants proceeded 
to India by way of Aleppo, Bagdad, and Ormuz. Among the 
places they visited, were Goa, Beejapoor, Golconda, Burhanpoor, 
Agra, Benares, Serampore, Malacca, and Ceylon. The descrip- 
tion they gave of the productions, wealth, and commerce of the 
countries they visited, excited strong desire for opening commu- 
nication with them. In 1591, three ships sailed for India round 
the Cape of Good Hope. So many of the crews became sicldy 
on this voyage that one ship returned home with the invalids. 
Another ship disappeared soon after passing the Cape of Good 
Hope, and was never again heard of, and the other having seized 
several rich prizes, and traded in different places with varied suc- 
cess, returned home after an absence of more than three years. 
In 1599, Queen Elizabeth sent Su' John Mildenhall on an em- 
bassy to the emperor of India, the Great Mogul, as he was called. 
But he died in Persia, on his way home, and it does not appear 
that any important advantages were secured by his embassy. 

The nation had now obtained so much knowledge of eastern 
countries, there was so much demand for the manufactures and 
productions of those countries, and they saw the Portuguese 
and Dutch obtaining so much advantage from commerce with 
them, that in the early part of 1600, an association was formed 
in London for carrying on du-ect trade with India, and on the 
13th of December, A. d. 1600, this association obtained an Act of 
incorporation, under the title of " The Governor and Company 
of Merchants of London, trading to the East Indies." The 
company was to be under the management of a governor and 
24 committee-men, all to be chosen annually. The rights and 
privileges of the Act were to continue for 15 years, but if the 
monopoly should be found to be injurious to the public wel- 
fare, then upon two years' notice, it might become annulled. 
Such was the origin of theoEast India Company. 

Such was the confidence in the newly formed company, that 
the subscriptions to the capital soon amounted to more than 
,£75,000, and in a few months they despatched 5 ships under 
the command of Captain Lancaster, who some years before had 
made a voyage to the East Indies. He proceeded to Suma.tra, 
Java, and some other places, but he found the articles he required 
so scarce and costly, that " he became apprehensive of incmimg 



168 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

loss, and what he seems to have dreaded still more, the disgrace 
of returning home without a cargo. From this anxiety he was 
relieved by meeting a Portuguese vessel of 900 tons, of which 
he made a prize, and found it so richly laden with calicoes and 
other valuable goods, that he not only occupied all his tonnage, 
but could have filled more ships, if he had had them." 

For several years, the business of the company consisted of a 
series of separate adventures, in which each subscriber shared 
in the profits on the final adjustment, in proportion to the sum 
he had paid. In 1612, it was resolved to have a permanent or 
fixed capital on the principle of a joint-stock company for four 
years, and the sum of .£418,691 was subscribed to it. This 
change gave more stability, regularity, and responsibility to their 
proceedings. Then* trade was embarrassed by the opposition 
of the Portuguese and Dutch, and in 1615, Sir Thomas Roe 
was sent as ambassador to the Grand Mogul. He remained in 
India several years, and obtained some important advantages 
for the company. 

Li 1617, the period of four years having expired, a fresh sub- 
scription for four years more was opened, and such was the 
desire to participate in it that £1,629,040 were subscribed. 
The subscribers " consisted of 15 dukes and earls ; 82 knights, 
including 2 judges ; aU the king's council, and 5 privy-council- 
lors ; 13 countesses and ladies ; 26 doctors of divinity and 
physic ; 18 widows and virgins ; 313 merchants and 214 trades- 
men ; 212 without titles ; 13 merchant-strangers, and 36 whose 
occupations were unknown, maldng in aU 954." These facts 
show that the trade with India had taken strong hold of the 
feelings of the nation. The affairs of the company were some- 
times prosperous, and sometimes embarrassed, varying with the 
state of the nation, and their success or losses in their conflicts 
with the Portuguese and Dutch it^ the East Indies. When 
England was at war with either of these nations, each party 
endeavored to seize the other's ships engaged in the Indian 
trade, as such ships had generally very rich cargoes. And 
when there was no war between these nations, yet if it was 
easier and cheaper to obtain cargoes by seizing ships already 
laden than to purchase such commodities, little scruple was felt 
about seizing and plundering such ships. The Portuguese, the 



HISTOET — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 169 

Spanish, the Dutch, and the English, who were engaged in the 
Indian trade, were generally at war with each other when east 
of the Cape of Good Hope, though the nations in Europe were 
in a state of peace. 

The first territory acquired by the Company in India, was 
Madras, which was obtained in 1640, by treaty with a native 
prince. The Company erected a fort there, and called it St. 
George, the town retaining its original name. In 1667, this 
place was incorporated by a royal charter. In 1668, the island ^ 
of Bombay, which was included in the dowry Charles I. had ^ 
received by his marriage with the Infanta of Portugal in 1662, 
was ceded by him to the East India Company, and in 1687, 
was constituted the chief seat of the British government in India. 

The charter of the Company was from time to time renewed 
and altered, as experience suggested and the exigencies of its 
affairs appeared to require. In 1661, the Company's governor 
and council in any of the factories, were empowered to exercise 
civil and criminal jurisdiction according to the laws of England. 
Also to export warlike stores, and to make peace and war with 
any princes in the Kmits of their trade, not being Christians. 
In 1670, the Company employed 30 ships with from 60 to 100 
men each. Their affairs were subject to great fluctuations, and 
in 1665 their stock in the market was 70 per cent. In 1676 it 
rose to 245 per cent., and in 1685 it was sold for 500 per cent. 
Soon after this the capital was increased, and in 1702, it 
amounted to £2,000,000, and they had factories in more than 60 
different places. A factory was originally a house of agency 
for the sale and purchase of goods. Some of these in the pro- 
gress of trade had become very large estabhshments, and often 
contained a great amount of money and valuable property. 
Such were generally fortified to secure them against the Portu- 
guese and Dutch, and also against native princes in times of 
anarchy and civil war. These fortified factories were often the 
scenes of severe conflict, sometimes taken and plundered, and at 
other times successfully defended. In 1664, when Shevajee, the 
founder of the Mahratta empire, attacked Surat and plundered 
the city, the agents of the Company defended their factory Vvdth 
so much valor, that much as he wished to get possession of it, 
he did not succeed. 

15 



170 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The factories or commercial establishments of the Em'opean 
companies often contained property of great value. In oriental 
cities, the police is generally inefficient and frequently very cor- 
rupt. The countries are often distracted by civil wars, when 
the parties become more intent upon enriching themselves by 
plunder than upon bringing war to a conclusion. Li such cities 
every rich man was obliged to regard his house as his castle, 
and have some means for defending it. In such circumstances 
the reasons for Europeans fortifying their factories are obvious, 
but the native princes in permitting this to be done, supposed 
nothing would be done beyond what was necessary for self- 
defence. They never supposed that these places of trade 
would become sti'ong forts to resist their power, involve them in 
war, subvert their governments, and bring their countries into 
subjection to foreign princes. In these respects history shows 
how much they were disappointed. 

It was in Bengal, where the business of the Company be- 
came most extended, that they first attempted to acquire and 
establish political and military power. The agents there com- 
plained to the Dii'ectors of the Company of the injuries and 
losses they had suffered from the native powers, and expressed 
their firm behef that the only way of obtaining any redress for 
the past and secmity for the future, was by being put into cir- 
cumstances to defend themselves, and to assert and maintain their 
rights. In consequence of these complaints and representations, 
the Directors sent 10 armed ships, carrying from 12 to 70 guns 
each, and 6 companies of soldiers. It was expected this military 
force would be largely increased by companies or regiments of 
native soldiers, commonly called sepoys, and ready to fight for 
any power which will pay them. The plan was to take Chitta- 
gong, fortify it, and then make it the centre of their military 
operations. The expedition appears to have been badly man- 
aged. The fleet arrived in the Ganges at different times, and 
did not act in concert. They made an attack on Hoogley and 
were repulsed. Their factories at Patna and Cossimbazar were 
taken and plundered. The Nabob assembled all his army and 
made an attack upon them. There was much severe fightmg, 
and the Nabob's forces were repulsed in several assaults. The 
Enghsh defended themselves on the island of InjeUee, which 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAlSr PERIOD. 171 

they siezed and fortified, while they took and plundered Bala- 
sore, and burnt 40 ships in the harbor. The next year a treaty 
was made with the Nabob, and the English were allowed to re- 
turn to their former factories. But through the indiscretion and 
rashness of some of the agents, hostilities were soon renewed, 
and all the business of the Company in Bengal was sus- 
pended. 

Aurungzeb, the last of the great Mogul sovereigns, was then in 
power. He was much exasperated with these proceedings, and 
also with the measures of Sir John Child in Bombay and other 
places subject to him. The emperor resolved to expel the Eng- 
lish from his dominions, and issued orders for a general attack 
upon their factories and other possessions. Surat and sev- 
eral other factories were taken, and Bombay was besieged. 
Thus threatened and straitened, " the English stooped to the 
most abject submissions," and at length succeeded in obtaining 
a cessation of hostilities. 

At this time the Directors and many proprietors of the Com- 
pany carefuUy reviewed its history, and examined its state and 
prospects. And the result was a determination to acquire terri- 
torial possessions in India as well as to carry on trade in the 
country. For pursuing this course they had the example and 
experience of the Portuguese and Dutch, whose territorial pos- 
sessions in India and places east from it were large, and who 
were supposed to realize great advantages from them. They 
had also learned by experience the inefficiency of the native 
armies, when opposed to the cool valor and disciplined skiU of 
European troops. In 1689, the Directors sent the following in- 
structions to their governors and councils in India. " The 
increase of our revenue is the subject of our care as much as our 
trade ; it is that must maintain our force, when twenty accidents 
may interrupt our trade ; it is that must make us a nation in 
India. Without that we are but as a great number of interlo- 
pers, united by his Majesty's royal charter, fit only to trade 
where no body of power thinks it their interest to prevent us ; 
and upon this account it is that the wise Dutch in all their gen- 
eral advices which we have seen, write ten paragraphs con- 
cerning government, their civil and military polic}^, warfare, and 
the increase of their revenue, for one paragraph they write con- 
cerning trade." 



172 IITDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

This was a new object to be realized, an object not contem- 
plated in the original plan of the Company, and not avowed till 
nearly a century after the Company was formed. The introduc- 
tion and steady prosecution of this principle of pohcy has 
resulted in the conquest of Lidia, so that England now governs 
as large and perhaps larger population there than was ever sub- 
ject to any Hindu or Mohammedan sovereign in that country. 

The charter was regarded by the directors and proprietors of 
the Company as exclusive, and securing to them a monopoly of 
all trade to places east from the Cape of Good Hope. It was 
always difficult, and often found to be impossible, to enforce 
this monopoly, and as this trade was v^ry profitable, many 
adventm-ers engaged in it. These men were called interlopers.^ 
and occasioned the Company much trouble, as they reduced the 
profits of the trade, and interfered with the treaties with native 
powers. The governors and agents were instructed to seize aU 
such ships, and to treat all who were found in them as pnates. 
Many such ships were seized, and the manner in which their 
officers and crews were treated, furnished ground for great com- 
plaint against the Company. 

They had also other difficulties to contend with. In 1618, 
James I. granted letters patent for an East India Company for 
Scotland. This was generally regarded as an infringement of 
the right of the original Company, and it was some time and 
not without much trouble and loss that matters were restored to 
a satisfactory state. In 1635, Charles I. granted a royal hcense 
to Sh' WiUiam Com-een and others to trade to the East Indies. 
This was regarded as an infringement of the chartered rights of 
the Company, and it was some years before matters were 
adjusted. 

In 1698, some merchants in London obtained a charter as "the 
Enghsh Company trading to the East Indies," the other or old 
association being called the London Company. These two 
Companies were rivals for several years. Great animosity 
raged between them, each being apparently as intent on injur- 
ing the other, as it was upon seeking its own advantage. In 
1708, the two Companies were united. The Company formed in 
1698, had loaned to the Enghsh government £2,000,000, and 
when the two were united, they loaned £1,200,000 more, mak- 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 173 

ing X 3,200,000. This sum shows that their resources must 
have been great.* 

HISTORY OP BENGAL TILL 1800. 

The British settlements in Bengal, were commenced subse- 
quently to those on the coast of Coromandel, and in western 
India. In 1698, the English purchased a few small villages on 
the Hoogley, where Calcutta now is, and there estabhshed a fac- 
tory. Changes often took place in the ruhng princes, and com- 
plaints of unjust demands and unreasonable exactions were 
sometunes made, but the trade here and at some other places in 
Bengal, was carried on with little interruption for more than 50 
years. On the death of Aliverdi Khan in 1756, Suraja Dowla, 
his grandson, became Nabob. This prince was ignorant and 
licentious, cruel and avaricious. Previous to the death of Ali- 
verdi Khan, on several occasions he manifested much dislike of 
the English. As Calcutta was exposed to be attacked and 
plundered by the French, the English began to erect or repair 
some fortifications around it. Suraja Dowla was greatly 
offended at their doing this, saying it showed a distrust of his 
power to protect them, or an intention to rebel against him. 
He began his march with a large force from Rajmahal towards 
Calcutta. On his way he made the English agents at Cossim- 
bazar prisoners, and plundered the factory. 

The English in Calcutta, on hearing that Suraja Dowla was 
on the way with a large army and had plundered Cossimbazar, 
resolved to defend the place. He arrived sooner than he was 
expected, and commenced a furious attack upon them. It was 
soon apparent that the fort could not belong defended. The 
women, children, and some of the men (among whom were the 

* Complaints were made that the original Company obtained votes and favors 
by distributing large sums of money in Parliament. The House of Commons 
resolved to inquire into the ground of these charges, and ordered their books to 
be examined. The charges were found to be fully sustained. " It appfeared 
that it had been the practice and even the habit of the Company to give bribes 
to men in power, that previous to the revolution their annual expenses under 
that head had scarcely ever exceeded £1,200; that since the revolution, it had 
gi'eatly increased, and that In the year 1693, it amounted to nearly £90,000," or 
nearly 450,000 dollars. 

15* 



174 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

governor and 2 members of the council), found safety on board 
the ships, which went down the river. The men, 146 in num- 
ber, remained. There appears to have been indiscretion, inde- 
cision, and mismanagement among those who went away in the 
ships, or in those who remained behind, or among all parties, 
Sm'aja Dowla soon obtained possession of the place, and 
expressed great indignation that they should attempt to defend 
it against him, the ruler of the country. The number of men 
who became prisoners was 146. The confinement and suffer- 
ings of these persons is a remarkable part of the history of the 
Enghsh in India. It occurred in June, the hottest part of the 
year in Calcutta, and the weather was unusually warm and sul- 
try for the season. The following is the most particular account 
of this horrid affair which I have seen. " The place fixed on 
for their confinement, was the common dungeon of the fortress, 
called the black hole. It consisted of a space 18 feet square, 
with only 2 small windows, barred with iron, opening into the 
close veranda, and scarcely admitting a breath of air. Into this 
narrow receptacle, the whole of the officers and soldiers, 146 in 
number, were compelled to enter, and on their venturing to 
remonstrate, the commander ordered every one who should 
hesitate to be instantly cut down. Thus were they forcibly 
thrust into this fearful dungeon, into which the whole number 
could with difficulty be squeezed, and the door was then fast 
barred from without. Their first impression on finding them- 
selves thus immured, was the utter impossibility of surviving 
one night, and the necessity of extricating themselves at what- 
ever cost. The jemadars, or Indian guards, were walking before 
the window, and Mr. HolweU, seeing one who bore on his face 
a more than usual expression of humanity, adjured him to pro- 
cure for them a room in which they could breathe, assuring him 
in the morning of a reward of 1,000 rupees. The man went 
away, but returned saying it was impossible. Thinking the 
offer had been too low, the prisoners tendered 2,000 rupees. The 
man again went and returned, saying the Nabob was asleep and 
no one durst awake him ; the lives of 146 men being nothing in 
comparison to disturbing for a moment the slumbers of a tpant. 
Mx. Holwell has described in detail the horrors of that dreadful 
night, which are scarcely paralleled in the annals of human 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 175 

misery. Every moment added to their distress. All attempts 
to obtain relief by a change of posture from the painful pressure 
to which it gave rise, only aggravated their sufferings. The air 
soon became pestilential, producing at every moment a feeling 
of suffocation ; and while the perspiration flowed in streams, 
they were tormented with the most burning thnst. Unfortu- 
nately, as the stations near the windows were decidedly the best, 
the most dreadful struggles were made to reach them. Many 
of the prisoners being foreign soldiers, and now released from 
aU subordination, made the most frightful efforts, and the suffer- 
ers as they grew weaker, were in some instances squeezed or 
actually trampled to death. Loud cries being raised of " water," 
the humane jemadar pushed through the bars several skins filled 
with that liquid, but this produced only an increase of calamity, 
owing to the very violent endeavors made to obtain it. The 
sepoys without found only a savage sport in witnessing these 
contests, and even brought lights to the window in order to view 
them to greater advantage. About 11 o'clock the prisoners 
began to die fast ; six of Mr. HolweU's intimate Mends sank at 
his feet, and were trodden upon by the survivors. Of those 
still alive, a great portion were raving or delirious ; some uttered 
the most incoherent prayers, and others the most frightful blas- 
phemies. They endeavored by furious invectives to induce the 
guards to fire into the prison and to end their miseries, but with- 
out effect. "When day dawned, the few who had not expired, 
were most of them either raving or insensible. In this last state 
was the governor himself when, about 6 o'clock, Suraja awoke 
and inquired for him. On learning the events of the night, he 
merely sent to ascertain if the English chief yet lived, and being 
informed there were appearances as if he might recover, gave 
orders to open the fatal door. At that time, of the 146 who 
had been inclosed, there breathed only 23." * 

The news of the surrender of Calcutta, and the dreadful suf- 
ferings of the prisoners, produced intense excitement at Madras, 
and it was at once resolved to despatch aU the forces, naval and 
military, which could be spared, to Bengal as soon as possible ; 
the naval under the command of Admiral Watson, and the 
military under Col. Clive. The whole force of the expedition 

* Murray, p. 361 and 362. 



176 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

consisted of 900 Europeans, and 1,500 sepoys. On arriving 
at Fulda, they found the few English that had escaped from 
Calcutta before it was surrendered. It was determined to pro- 
ceed at once to attack Calcutta, which was recovered soon, and 
with but little loss. The property of the East India Company 
was found entire, having been reserved for the Nabob, but pri- 
vate houses had been plundered. The Enghsh then took Hoog- 
ley, in which considerable plunder was obtained. The Nabob 
was then at Moorshedabad, his capital, but on hearing that the 
English had arrived, he assembled his army and began his 
march towards Calcutta. Some efforts at negotiation were 
made on the way, but these proving ineffectual, and the Nabob 
having now surrounded Calcutta, Clive resolved to attack his 
army. Li this attack the Enghsh were successful, though their 
loss was very heavy in proportion to the number engaged. A 
treaty was then made, by which the Enghsh were permitted to 
fortify Calcutta, to carry on trade and enjoy the same rights and 
privileges as before. The Nabob then retm-ned to Moorsh- 
edabad. 

InteUigence having arrived that war had commenced between 
England and France, Chve and Watson united in making an 
attack upon the French settlement of Changanore upon the 
river Hoogley. The garrison, consisting of 500 Europeans and 
700 sepoys, became prisoners of war, and a great quantity of 
ammunition and military stores was obtained. But this attack 
upon the French, who had not interfered in the war between the 
English and the Nabob, and who were regarded by the Nabob 
as under his protection, much exasperated him. And it was not 
unreasonable for him to be thus dissatisfied, regarding as he did, 
both parties as foreigners permitted to reside in his dominions 
for purposes of trade. "V^Hien he heard what the English were 
preparing to do, he sent them peremptory orders to let the 
French alone, and he put his army in motion to protect Chan- 
ganore, but the place was compeUed to sun-ender before his 
army could render any aid. Just at that time the Nabob 
received the alarm.mg news that Ahmed Shah AbdaUee had 
taken Delhi, and was preparing to extend his conquests over aU 
parts of India, which had formerly composed the Mogul empire. 
In these circumstances, while he protected the remaining French 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 177 

factories, he thought it prudent not to involve himseK again in 
war with the English. 

But the fickle disposition of the Nabob, his hatred of the 
English, his corrupt ministers and evil counsellors, and the dar- 
ing, ambitious, and unscrupulous character of Clive, aheady 
flushed with success, aU these gave Kttle prospect of continued 
peace. A plan was soon formed to dethrone the Nabob, and in 
his place to set up Meer JafFer, who was paymaster-general of 
the army, and supported himself a very considerable military 
force. " In manufacturing the terms of the confederacy," says 
Mill, " the grand concern of the English appeared to be money ; 
and the situation of JafFer Khan and the manners and customs 
of the country made him ready to promise whatever they 
desired." The amount which he stipulated to pay to the 
agents of the East India Company for their assistance and 
influence in procuring for him the office and dignity of Nabob, 
is stated by Mill to be X 1,238,575, or about $6,000,000. This 
sum was distributed among the agents of the Company then 
in Bengal, each one apparently securing for himself as large a 
share as possible. 

The suspicions of the Nabob in respect to Meer JafFer, for 
some reasons, became excited, and to remove them the latter 
made the strongest assurances of innocence and faithfulness, 
and even took an oath of fidelity on the Koran. This allayed 
the fears of his royal master, but made no change in his own 
purpose. Cfive, in accordance with the plan which had been 
formed, mustered his force of 3,100 men, of whom only 950 
were English, with 10 pieces of cannon, at Chandernagore, and 
commenced his march towards Plassey, where the Nabob was 
then encamped with his army, estimated at 35,000 infantry, 
15,000 cavalry, and a large train of artillery.* A part of this 
force was under the command of Meer JafFer, who had lately 
bound himself by the most solemn oaths to be faithful to his 
royal master, and also promised to join the English and ruin 
his master as soon as he could safely do so. The battle of 
Plassey, the most celebrated and important in its consequences 
of any in the Enghsh history of India, was fought on the 23d 

* Another account says 50,000 infantry, 18,000 cavalry, and 40 pieces of 
artillery. 



178 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of June, 1757. The battle was commenced by the Nabob, 
about 8 o'clock in the mornmg, and for some houi-s it was only 
a distant cannonade. As soon as Meer Jaffer perceived it was 
safe to do so, he began to move the force under his command 
to join, the English. Clive, perceiving this movement, ordered 
his force to attack the other part of the Nabob's army. These 
soon gave way, and the rout became general. The loss on the 
part of the English was only 20 Europeans killed and wounded, 
16 sepoys killed, and 36 wounded. The Nabob fled, escorted 
by a body of cavalry. He was pursued, and soon reduced to a 
state of great distress. He disguised himself, and endeavored 
to escape to Patna, but was discovered, brought back, treated 
with great indignity, and assassinated in his own palace. 

The next day after the battle Meer JafFer was proclaimed Na- 
bob, and on the 26th (3 days after the battle) the Bengal treas- 
my was examined. The contents were found to be much less 
than was expected ; not sufficient to pay the stipulated amount 
to be given to the different English parties. StiU the amount 
realized, either according to previous stipulation or in the way 
of presents was large. Clive acknowledged that he secured 
^800,000 for himself.* Meer JafFer soon found himself sur- 
rounded with difficulties. He had come under pecuniary obli- 
gations to the English, to whom he was indebted for his eleva- 
tion, far beyond what he had any means to pay, and the dis- 
tracted state of the country did not allow of his realizing so 
much revenue as he expected. He was also annoyed that the 
English, on learning that the treasury contained so much less 
than was expected when the stipulated sums were agi-eed upon, 
were not satisfied with what they then got, but insisted upon 
the whole being in some way realized and paid to them. He 
thought they had been abundantly remunerated for all they had 
done to raise him to power, and he was so much vexed mth 
their importunate demands, while his own troops were almost 
in a state of mutiny on account of their large arrears of pay- 
ment, that he declared to some of his friends, " that if a French 
force would come into the province he would assist them, unless 

* " CUve ackno-wledged to have seciu-ed £160,000, wMle to each member of 
council there fell £24,000." — ilfurray, p. 373. 



HISTOEY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 179 

the English would release him from all their claims of money, 
territory, and exemptions." The means he used to replenish his 
treasury made him unpopular, and he had reason to fear assas- 
sination or some conspiracy to destroy him. 

In 1758, a commission arrived from the East India Company 
in London remodelling the government in Bengal. Instead of 
one man being governor all the time, the office was to be filled 
by 4 men in rotation for 3 months each. Clive was much dis- 
satisfied that no place was assigned to him in the new estab- 
lishment, and his name was not even mentioned in the commiis- 
sion. The reason of this probably was that he was supposed to 
have returned to Madras. But he wished to continue in Ben- 
gal, and supposed the importance of his services and his own 
desu-es would be regarded by the Directors. When the govern- 
ment was being remodelled according to the commission, the 
10 men who were to form the council, including the 4 of them 
who were to fill the office of governor in rotation, invited Clive 
to take the place of President. With this invitation he says 
" he hesitated not one moment to comply." When the Court 
of Directors learned that he stUl continued in Bengal, and pre- 
vious to receiving these proceedings of the Council, they sent 
another despatch to Bengal, appointing " him to be the chief 
and presiding member." 

Bengal, though it had become virtually independent, yet con- 
tinued nominally a dependency upon the Great Mogul at Delhi, 
and the Nabob was nominally his deputy. As Meer Jaffer was 
a usurper and had neither been appointed to the place nor con- 
firmed in the office he had assumed, the office of Nabob was 
regarded at Delhi as vacant, and the emperor appointed his 
oldest son to be Subadar or Nabob of Bengal, Bahar, and 
Orissa, and several native princes were inclined to miite in plac- 
ing him in power in those provinces. In these circumstances 
Meer Jaffer solicited the aid of Clive, who, accompanied by 
Meer JafFer's son, Meeran, with such force as could be spared, 
proceeded to Patna. On arriving at Patna, they found the 
native princes had withdrawn their promised aid, and the son 
of the emperor of Delhi and the legal Nabob of Bengal, Bahar 
and Orissa was in such straitened circumstances that he was 
glad to obtain from Clive a small sum of money for his subsist- 



180 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ence, and then withdraw from the province. For this important 
service he procured for Clive the rank of an omra of the em- 
pke, and bestowed upon him the whole of the revenue or rent 
which the East India Company were bound to pay for the 
territory which they held around Calcutta. This territory is 
frequently called in Indian history " CKve's Jaghire " and the 
revenue amounted to the large sum of ^ 150,000 annually. In 
the early part of 1760, Clive resigned his office in the govern- 
ment and embarked for Europe. 

When Lord Clive resigned his office in the government, his in- 
fluence and other causes procured the place for Mr. Vansittart, 
then at Madras. The state of affairs in Bengal was distracted 
and discouraging. Meer JafFer had become unpopular among 
all classes of people. He was indolent, voluptuous, extrava- 
gant, and tyrannical. There was no reason to expect any refor- 
miation in him, nor any improvement in the government of the 
country, while the power continued in his hands.* He owed 
his elevation to the office of Nabob to the English, and it was 
only through their aid that he had been able to retain his place. 
But he had not paid, and was unwilKng to pay the debts he 
had incurred to them, while he was evidently quite alienated 
from them in feehng, and endeavored to avoid intercourse with 
them. In these circumstances, the state of the country and the 
course to be pursued were subjects of much consideration in 
the council at Calcutta, and it was resolved to invest Meer 
Cossim, a son-in-law of Meer Jaffer, with the power, if not with 
the office of Nabob. Meer Cossim became a party to the 
arrangement, and Meer Jaffer, though very reluctant for a while, 
yet finally resigned his office and removed to Calcutta. 

There were other elements in bringing about this change in 

* " The situation of Meer JafFer was deplorable from the firet. With an 
exhausted treasury, an exhausted country, and vast engagements to discharge, 
he was urged to the severest exertions; while the profusion with which he 
wasted his treasure upon his own person and some unworthy favorites, was ill 
calculated to soothe the wretched people under the privations to which they 
were reduced. The cruelties of which he and Meeran, his son, were guilty, 
made them objects of general detestation ; the negligence, disorder, and weak- 
ness of their government, exposed them to contempt ; and their troops, always 
mutinous from the length of their arrears, threatened them every moment with 
fatal extremities." 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 181 

the government, which caused many violent discussions and dis- 
sensions in the council of the East India Company in Calcutta. 
" The vast sums," says MUl, " obtained by a few individuals 
who had the principal management of the former revolution, 
when Meer Jaffer trod down Suraja Dowla, his master, were 
held in vivid remembrance, and the persuasion that similar ad- 
vantages of which every man burned for a share, were now 
meditated by the select committee, excited the keenest emo- 
tions of envy and jealousy." * 

Meer Cossim, aware of his circumstances and of what was 
expected from him, made great exertions to meet his pecuniary 
engagements, and was soon relieved from the most pressing 
claims. But a new difficulty soon appeared. The emperor of 
Delhi, v/ho had never relinquished his claims over Bengal, again 
manifested a determination to assert and enforce his rights, and 
there were some indications that the French would espouse his 
cause. This gave Meer Cossim great uneasiness, and he pro- 
ceeded to Patna to meet the emperor, who was then in that 
city. The emperor invested Meer Cossim in due form with the 
office of Nabob over Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, and the latter 
engaged to pay 24,000,000 rupees (nearly $12,000,000) annu- 
ally as the tribute of those provinces. Meer Cossim was now 
free from aU anxiety on this source. 

But new difficulties now claimed his attention. The inland 
trade in India was at that time much embarrassed by local ex- 
actions and transit duties. The governors of provinces and the 
petty princes of small districts, required duties to be paid on all 
goods passing through their territories. The agents of the 
Company claimed an exemption from these duties on the 
ground that the emperor had given a firman that no such duties 
should be required for goods of the Company when being car- 
ried under the Company's seal from one place or factory to 
another within the country. Had this privilege or right been 
restricted, as was intended, and as it ought to have been, to the 
bona fide goods of the Company, probably no serious difficulty 
would have occurred. But some of the agents of the Company 
were engaged largely in trade on their own account, and they 



*]VIill, vol. 2, p. 219, 4to. 

16 



182 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

misused this privilege of the Company for their own advantage. 
And not only so, but native traders under the protection of these 
agents, or in partnership with them, managed to obtain the same 
advantage for themselves. " Of the council, a great proportion 
was deriving vast emoluments from these abuses." By such 
means the revenue suffered much, and all regular and lawful 
trade was depressed and injured. Complaints of these things 
were so loud, and the abuses were shown to be so many and so 
great, that ]\ir. Vansittart made an agreement with the Nabob 
that the Company's agents and the country traders should pay 
equally the same duties. This just and judicious arrangement 
was annulled by a majority of the council after the Nabob had 
began to carry it into effect, and so matters were again in con- 
fusion. The Nabob then resolved as an extreme and final 
measure to abolish all the inland duties which had occasioned 
so much trouble, and so he put the English and the native 
traders upon an equality. But " of this the Enghsh unreasona- 
bly and loudly complained, because it left no distinction be- 
tween them and his own." * 

Complaints of mutual injuries continued to increase till the 
excitement resulted in a state of open warfare. The English 
again invested Meer JafFer with the office and dignity of Nabob, 
who readily promised whatever they desu-ed. They then sent a 
force against Meer Cossim, who w^as defeated at Geriah. They 
then besieged and took Monghir, which Meer Cossim had made 
his capital and fortified. JMeer Cossim was greatly enraged, 
and declared that if the English force should advance upon 
Patna, he would cause all the garrison who had been taken 
prisoners in that city to be put to death. As soon as the Eng- 
lish force approached Patna he fulfilled his tlireat. " The whole 
garrison of Patna, consisting of 50 gentlemen and 100 soldiers, 
were put to death with the single exception of Mr. Fullerton, 

* " The conduct of the Company's servants upon this occasion furnishes one of 
the most remarkable instances upon record of the power of interest to extinguish 
all sense of justice and even of shame. They had hitherto insisted, contrary 
to aU right and all precedent, that the government of the country should exempt 
their goods from duty. They now insisted that it should impose duties upon the 
goods of all other traders, and accused it as guilty of a breach of peace towards 
the English nation because it proposed to remit them." — Mill. 



HISTORY — THE EUEOPEAN PERIOD. 183 

who was spared on account of his medical skill." This is called 
in history, " the Patna massacre." Patna was soon besieged 
and taken. Meer Cossim fled to Oude and found refuge with 
the Nabob, or vizier as he is often called. The emperor of 
Delhi was then with the Nabob. These three, namely, the Em- 
peror, Meer Cossim, and the Nabob of Oude, united their forces 
and attacked the British army then encamped near Patna. 
They were repulsed and retreated to Oude, but the English were 
not in circumstances to pursue them. A spirit of insubordi- 
nation now broke out in the English army, and for a wliile threat- 
ened the worst results. Sir Hector Munroe, having assumed 
the command, acted with great firmness in this exigency. In one 
battalion that mutinied, 24 of the ringleaders were executed — 
blown from cannon — and order was generally restored through 
the army. As soon as the rainy season was past, Sir Hector 
marched to attack the Nabob, and defeated him near Buxar, on 
the Soane. A great quantity of military stores and 130 pieces 
of artillery were taken. The emperor of Delhi now found an 
opportunity of withdrawing from the Nabob, and he went over 
with the corps personally attached to him, to the English army. 
The Nabob in connection with a body of Mahrattas under 
Mulhar Row Holkar and Ghazee ud Deen, made another effort 
to retrieve his affairs, but his army was dispersed almost as soon 
as attacked. When the army reached Benares, the Nabob of 
Oude offered as conditions of peace, to pay ^1,250,000 for 
the expenses of the war, $1,250,000 to the army, and $400,- 
000 to the commander-in-chief. But he refused to deliver up 
certain persons under his protection, and whom the English de- 
manded. A treaty was then made with the emperor, in which 
he authorized the English to obtain possession of the dominions 
of Bulwant Sing, Raja of Benares, and they engaged to put 
him in possession of the dominions of the Nabob of Oude, and 
he was to reimburse to them all the expenses which this ser- 
vice might oblige them to incur.* In this campaign victory 
had become so common to the English forces, and defeat to the 
native armies, that each party appeared to look forward to such 
a result. Wherever the English army went, they conquered. 

* This part of the treaty was strongly disapproved by the Court of Directors, 
and so was not carried into eiFect. 



\ 



184 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Whatever fort or city they attacked, they soon got possession 
of it. They were now masters of the great central plain of 
India, and the emperor of Delhi, the Grand Mogul, if not their 
prisoner, was under their protection, and m their camp. 

In the mean time important events were taking place in Cal- 
cutta. " Meer JafFer had died, partly it would seem of vexation 
at not having been able to meet the enormous pecuniary demands 
of the English rulers." His son, Nujeem ud Dowla, a youth 20 
years old, had been invested by the council with the office of 
Nabob. But httle power was reposed in his hands. The Court 
of Directors and the English nation had become much dissatis- 
fied with the state of affairs in India, and having lost confidence 
in the agents of the Company, they were decided in the opinion 
that great and important changes were urgently required. In 
these cu'cumstances after much inquiry and deliberation the 
Dnectors appointed Lord Clive (he had been raised to the peer- 
age) to be governor and commander-in-chief of their civil and 
military establishments in Bengal. At the same time they 
passed stringent laws forbidding their servants to engage in 
future in any kind of private trade, and also forbidding them to 
receive presents from any natives, whether princes or common 
people. 

Lord Clive arrived at Calcutta, in May of 1765, and pro- 
ceeded at once to organize the government on the new form 
sanctioned by the Court of Dkectors. His despatches to that 
body describe the country as in a state of misrule bordering 
upon anarchy, and of great oppression. He describes the agents 
of the Company, as negligent of their public duties, and intent 
only upon enriching themselves. And the history of Bengal for 
several years shows that private ends and personal gains had 
much influence in making peace and war, and in setting up and 
then deposing native princes. Many servants or agents of the 
Company accumulated large fortunes by obtaining presents or 
donations or bribes for their silence, or influence, or exertions in 
these changes and revolutions. 

Before the close of the year CKve retui'ned to Calcutta, and 
resumed his seat as president of the select committee. He left 
India for England early in 1768, so that his second residence in 
India was less than two years. His government had much vigor, 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 185 

but while rigorously enforcing the laws and orders of the Direc- 
tors of the Company upon the junior servants, he and the select 
committee engaged largely in private trade and speculation, thus 
violating those very laws which were designed for them as well as 
others ; " and this course was continued in defiance of more than 
one positive prohibition. At length, however, orders arrived 
so peremptory and so decisive, that they could no longer be 
disregarded." Some of Clive's measures were very unpopular. 
In the army a conspkacy was formed, embracing a large por- 
tion of the European officers, and the English power in India 
was seldom if ever in greater danger, than it was for a while from 
this source. Several officers, including some of high rank, were 
dismissed, and order and discipline were again restored. The 
Nabob Nujeem ud Dowla died and was succeeded by his brother 
SyefF ud Dowla. The office or situation of Nabob formerly of 
so much power and dignity, had now becomei, and from this 
time continued to be, a mere pageant, as the civil and military 
government of the provinces was in the hands of the English. 
After the Court of Directors had peremptorily forbidden any per- 
son in their employment in India to receive presents from any 
class of natives, a sum of money was given or left to CKve by 
Meer JafFer, as a present or legacy. It appears to have been the 
former under the latter name. His right to receive this in the 
existing circumstances was much discussed, and he finally made 
it over to the East India Company to constitute a fund for the 
rehef of certain persons connected with the Indian army. He 
also appropriated a yet further sum received from the succeeding 
Nabob to the same purpose. These two sums, with the interest 
which had accumulated upon them, when paid into the Com- 
pany's treasury in 1770, amounted to ^600,000, and constitute 
what is well known in Indian history as Lord Chve's Fund. 

The proceedings of the East India Company now began to 
excite much attention in Parliament, and tlnrough the kingdom. 
They presented the remarkable fact of a company of merchants 
originally associated in London for purposes of trade, acqumng 
a territory larger than the united kingdom, maintaining a large 
army, making war and peace with independent nations, and set- 
ting up and deposing at their pleasure, independent sovereigns 
and princes. The large fortunes accumulated in India gave 

16* 



186 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

extravagant ideas of the wealth of the country. The price 
of the stock of the Company on exchange, rose to 263 per 
cent., and the court of proprietors voted a dividend of 12 per 
cent. The feelings of the Enghsh nation were much excited. 
Parliament interfered and passed an act limiting the dividend to 
10 per cent, for a certain time, and requiring the Company to 
pay $2,000,000 annually into the public treasury for their char- 
tered privileges. This Act was afterwards somewhat modified, 
and the period prolonged. The time had now come for some 
important changes in the government of India, and there were 
many earnest debates in Parliament, and in the Court of Direc- 
tors in respect to the changes required, and how far the affairs of 
the Company in India should be put under the control of com- 
missioners or officers appointed by the crown. At length three 
men, namely, Messrs. Vansittart, Scrafton, and Ford, who had 
formerly been in the employment of the Company in India, were 
appointed commissioners or supervisors, and sailed from London 
for Calcutta, but neither the ship nor any one on board was 
heard of after sailing. 

In 1772, a select committee was appointed in the House of 
Commons to inquire into the affans of the East India Company. 
Their affau's were now so much involved that they applied to 
Parliament for a large loan and obtained it. Important changes 
were now made in the constitution of the Company. A propri- 
etor of stock must own .£15000 to have one vote; one who 
owned <£ 3,000, could have 2 votes; one who owned £6,000, 
could have 3 votes, and one who owned <£ 10,000, or more, could 
have 4 votes. A governor was to be appointed over Bengal 
with a yearly salary of £25,000, and 4 councillors with <£ 8,000 
each. A superior court of judicature was to be estabhshed in 
Calcutta, consisting of a chief justice with a yearly salary of 
.£8,000, and 3 other judges with £6,000 each. 

The following resolutions, which were passed by the House 
of Commons, show how the proceedings of the Company were 
regarded by that body. 

" 1. That aU acquisitions made under the military force or 
treaty with foreign princes, do of right belong to the State. 

" 2. That to appropriate acquisitions so made to the private 
emolument of persons intrusted with any civil or mihtary power 
of the State, is illegal. 



HISTOEY — THE EUROPEAN" PERIOD. 187 

" 3. That very great sums of money and other valuable prop- 
erty have been acquired in Bengal, from princes and others of 
that country, by persons intrusted with the civil and military 
powers of the State, by means of such powers, which sums of 
money and valuable property have been appropriated to the 
private use of such persons." 

These resolutions, though violently opposed by the Court of 
Directors and their partisans, were yet passed by a large major- 
ity. They involved important principles, which if enforced, 
would put an end to usages and practices by which many large 
fortunes had been accumulated, and great oppression had been 
exercised in India. We now come to a period of Indian history, 
which excited more interest and acquired more notoriety than 
any period before or since that time. 

Warren Hastings,* who had acquh-ed so much notoriety in the 
history of India, and in the proceedings of Parliament, was the 
first governor-general of India. The members of council were 
General Clavering, Col. Monson, Mr. BarweU, and Mr. Francis, 
who could not be removed witliin the time (5 years) for which 
they had been appointed, except by the king upon representa- 
tion of the Court of Dkectors. The salaries of the men thus 
placed over the affairs and interests of the East India Company 
in India, will show something of the spirit of the Company. 
Mr. Hastings's salary was X 25,000, or nearly $125,000 yearly, 
General Clavering, who was commander-in-chief, had .£16,000, 
or $80,000, and the other 3 members of council had £8,000, or 
$40,000 each. 

The state of India was very distracted when Mr. Hastings 
assumed the administration of afFahs, and vigorous measures 
were required to restore order and system. One of the meas- 

* Mr. Hastings was the son of a clergj-man of the Church of England. He 
went to India in the service of the East India Company in 1749, being then in 
his 1 7th year. He filled various situations in different places in Bengal, till he 
returned to England in 1765. In 1768, he was appointed by the Court of Dii'ec- 
tors a member of council at Madras, where he remained till he proceeded, in 
1772, to Calcutta, to become governor-general of India, a situation of greater 
honor, power, and responsibilitj-, than had ever been conferred on any European 
in that country. For instance, his salary was £25,000, or $125,000 yearly. 
This has been the salary of the governor-general of India for more than 
80 years past. 



188 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ures adopted at this time has often been the subject of severe 
and just animadversion. It was a change in the tenure of the 
land to obtain a greater amount of taxes. It is thus described by 
the best authorities. " There was not a field in Bengal, Bahar, 
or Orissa, which was not the property of some owner, and these 
owners were in nine cases out of ten, the occupants and cultiva- 
tors. And yet it was resolved to divide aU the land in these 
provinces into small districts, and then sell them to the highest 
bidder, to the man who would pay the government the highest 
tax or rent for them. The specified period was for 5 years, but 
it was generally expected it would then be made permanent. 
This act has rarely been equalled in point of iniquity under 
any government in ancient or in modern times. The justice of 
a law which went to dispossess such proprietors of their right in 
order that their rulers might enjoy a greater amount of land-tax, 
need not be discussed. The measure was as arbitrary as it was 
cruel." — " It was an innovation by which the whole property of 
the country, and along with it the administration of justice 
were placed upon a new foundation. It was a change far 
greater than if all the existing tenures of land in England, 
whether temporary or perpetual, were aU at once abolished, and 
new tenures of a very different description, new possessors in 
many instances, and a new administration of justice were intro- 
duced." The changes involved in this measure were many and 
great, and instead of producing order and system, the result 
was disorder and confusion as weU as complaining and suffer- 
ing. But however wanting the government might be in moral 
principle and sympathy with the native population, it was not 
deficient in efficiency, energy, and perseverance, and so its 
obnoxious measures were enforced, though, as was soon appar- 
ent, without realizing the expected advantages. 

For no part of his administration has IMr. Hastings been 
more censured than for the part he performed in what is called 
the Rohilla war. The Nabob of Oude was very anxious to 
add to his dominions the territory belonging to the RohiUa 
chiefs, called Rohilcund. But as they were brave and had a 
well disciplined army, he was not able to WTCst it from them in 
war. The English had at this time a large and efficient mihtary 
force, which was not in active service. The Nabob offered to 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 189 

pay for the aid of this force to subdue the Rohillas ; aR the ex- 
penses of the war, and also 40 lacks of rupees (about 12,000,- 
000), to be paid into the Company's treasury. In this way the 
expenses of this part of the army would be paid while thus em- 
ployed, and also a large sum of money be obtained for other 
purposes. On these conditions Mr. Hastings supplied the Na- 
bob with the force he required. War was made upon the 
Rohillas ; they were defeated in battle ; their country laid waste 
and plundered with a barbarity and cruelty seldom known even 
in Indian warfare, tiU " every one who bore the name of Rohilla, 
was either put to death, or sought safety by flight." 

The affairs of the emperor also came under the consideration 
of Mr. Hastings whUe at Benares. When the emperor gave the 
dewany of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa to the English, it was 
stipulated that he should receive 26 lacks of rupees (^1,300,- 
000) as his tribute. But his putting himself into the power of 
the Malu-attas to be placed by them on the throne of his ances- 
tors at Delhi, was made the occasion of withholding from him 
the stipulated tribute ; and not only so but " his districts of Alla- 
habad and Corah, which the English occupied on the pretext of 
possessing them for him, were dishonestly sold to the vizier (the 
Nabob of Oude) for the sum of 50 lacks of rupees ($2,500,- 
000). Thus was the honor of the country cooUy bartered 
away for gold, and two of the grossest acts of injustice com- 
mitted that had yet blotted the armals of British authority in the 
East." 

The new constitution framed by Parliament for the East India 
Company was to go into operation in August, 1774. The gov- 
ernment consisted of Mr. Hastings, who was governor-general, 
and Mr. Barwell member of council, both in India when 
appointed, and of General Clavering who was commander-in- 
chief, with a seat in council, and Colonel Monson and Mr. Fran- 
cis, members of council, from England. It was soon manifest 
that there was not likely to be harmony in their opinions and 
proceedings. The members who lately amved from England, 
instituted inquiry into some proceedings wliich were commenced 
before their arrival, and were yet an an unfinished state. ]Mr. 
Hastings resisted such inquuy and refused to give the informa- 
tion they demanded, while he strenuously opposed some meas- 



190 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ures which they proposed. The council was generally divided 
in opinion, Mr. Barwell concurring with Mr. Hastings, and the 
other three members opposmg him. Among the matters that 
came before them, were charges against Mr. Hastings for obtain- 
ing large sums of money from princes and others for his official 
influence and favors, and then appropriating them to his own 
use. He denied the right of the council to inquire into such 
matters, but a majority of them believed that to investigate such 
charges when properly brought before them was clearly within 
the province of their duty. These dissensions were sometimes 
so violent, that Mr. Hastings would declare the council dissolved, 
quit the chair and go out. The majority would then vote the 
first member into the chair and continue the proceedings. Raja 
Nuncomar, a native of high rank and great influence, offered to 
produce proof of such charges before the council to a great 
amount. But Mr. Hastings and his friends caused him to be 
prosecuted for forgery, and he was condemned and executed. 
These proceedings produced the most intense excitement, and 
was regarded in India and in England as the most exceptiona- 
ble and atrocious act of his whole administration.* 

In 1776, Colonel Monson, one of the members of the council, 
died, and from this time Mr. Hastings, by having the privilege 
of the casting vote, had the direction of the government, though 
debates and dissensions were as violent as they previously had 
been. Matters of revenue and changes in the laws and modes 
for the administration of justice, were almost constantly under 
the consideration of the council, but the difficulties which beset 
these subjects were so many, and the difference of opinions and 
plans was so great, that but Kttle progress was made or improve- 
ment effected. The Directors in several instances severely cen- 
sured Mr. Hastings' proceedings, and he in return treated their 

* The author of the History of the British Empire in India, remarks as fol- 
lows, concerning these proceedings : " To the eternal disgrace of all concerned, 
a man who was not legally amenable to the court that tried him, who committed 
the offence before English law was established in India, according to the usages 
of whose native courts forgery is not a capital crime, and against whom the evi- 
dence was far from conclusive, that man in defiance of the respect due to the 
feelings of the whole native population, suffered death by the hands of the exe- 
cutioner. There is not among all the acts of Mr. Hastings' administration, one 
which has left so deep a stain upon his memory as this." 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 191 

opinions and insti'uctions with little respect ; in some instances 
he deliberately disobeyed them.* The opposition between Mr. 
Hastings and Mr. Francis became at length so personal and bit- 
ter that it resulted in a duel, in which the latter was wounded. 
Soon after this he embarked for Europe. 

In 1781, Mr. Hastings made a visit to Benares, Oude, and 
some other places in the upper provinces. He was invested by 
the council with the full power of the government, and the 
means he used while at these places to extort large sums of 
money from the Raja of Benares, the Nabob of Oude, and the 
two Begums (Princesses) were much censured, and they were 
among the charges brought against him after his return to Eng- 
land. By these means, (among which several innocent persons 
were severely tortured, to compel them to surrender treasure, or 
give information where it could be found,) he obtained for him- 
self or for the East India Company, several millions of dollars. 
At Benares, JMr. Hastings arrested the Raja and imprisoned him 
in his own house under a military guard. The government of 
the Raja, as well as of his father before him, had given the peo- 
ple uncommon justice and protection. So his people were pros- 
perous, his government was popular, and himself and family 
much respected. When the circumstances of the Raja and the 
treatment he was suffering became known, the people rushed 
together in great numbers, overpowered the guard and set the 
Raja at liberty. Mr. Hastings was for a w^hile in much danger, 
being a prisoner and surrounded by an enraged population. 
But he found means to escape. " He secretly quitted the city 
after it became dark," and jEied to Chunar, a strong fort then in 
possession of the English. Here he remained till he had col- 
lected a force sufficiently large to enable him to return to Be- 
nares, and put down aU opposition. 

When Mr. Hastings entered upon his duties as governor-gen- 
eral, a majority of the council was opposed to his policy, and so 
he could but very imperfectly carry out his plans. But in about 
2 years Colonel Monson, one member of the council died, and 
Mr. Hastings then, by the casting vote, had the government gen • 
eraUy in his own hands. Mr. Wheeler who succeeded Colonel 

* The Court of Directors in one clespatcli to Mr. Hastings, say, " We have 
read with astonishment, your formal resolution to suspend our orders," etc. 



192 INDIA, ANCIEi^T AND MODERN. 



Monson in council, was also opposed to Mr. Hastings' policy, 
but as General Clavering then died, the power still continued in 
Mr. Hastings' hands. After Mr. Francis' return to Europe 
(wounded in a duel with Mr. Hastings), he appears to have 
devised and carried into effect whatever plans he pleased in the 
name and with the full power of the East India Company in 
Lidia. 

]\Ir. Hastings resigned the government early in 1785 after an 
administration of more than 12 years. Some measures of his 
administration and the part he had personally performed in 
them, had excited much attention in England, and been often 
referred to in Parliament. He had authorized agents and nu- 
merous friends to take his part, and to maintain his cause in Par- 
liament and in the English journals, but the dethroned princes 
and suffering people of India had neither agents in England to 
write, nor representatives in Parliament to speak, for them. 
This subject was taken up with greater earnestness after Mr. 
Hastings' arrival in England, and brief as our sketch of Indian 
history must be, it must yet contain some notice of Mr. Hast- 
ings' celebrated trial for maladministration while he was gover- 
nor-general in India. 

The impeachment of Mr. Hastings was a measure of the 
House of Commons. The articles were prepared and the pros- 
ecution was managed by a committee, of whom the celebrated 
Edmund Burke was chairman. The impeachment was before 
the House of Lords, as the high court of judicature of the king- 
dom. Long preparations were made, and the trial commenced 
in February of 1788. " So great was the interest which these 
proceedings against Mr. Hastings had excited, that persons of 
the highest rank assembled to witness the scene.* The. opening 
address was made by Mr. Burke, and occupied 4 days. The 
trial, partly from its novelty and for want of precedents and 
usages to guide the proceedings, and partly from the difficulty 
of procuring evidence which was known to exist but was con- 
cealed and withheld as much as possible, and also from the 
rejection of evidence of different lands on account of lega. 

* " The Queen, the Prince of Wales, and 3 of the royal princesses were in 
the gallery. The Prince of Wales and 3 of the royal dukes with their trains 
followed the Chancellor." 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 193 

technicalities and formalities, proceeded slowly. The Du-ectors 
of the East India Company, though they had often severely 
censured Mr. Hastings, and strongly condemned the very actions 
set forth in the charges against him, yet now apparently regard- 
ing their own character as involved in the trial of their governor- 
general, had a large interest in procuring his acquittal, and 
exerted all their influence in his favor. The trial was adjourned 
from time to time, partly on account of the peculiar difficulties 
which embarrassed and delayed the proceedings, and partly 
because other and urgent matters claimed the attention of Par- 
liament. Thus year after year passed away. Mr. Hastings, 
his counsel, and his friends complained of this delay, but it was 
shown that this delay had been chiefly caused by them, and not 
by the managers of the prosecution. It was apparent, also, that 
this delay and the complaints of Mr. Hastings and his friends 
were exerting a strong influence on public sympathy in his favor, 
and against the managers of the prosecution, so that he and 
not they had an interest in prolonging it. The trial "was 
extended, notwithstanding all the managers could do to hasten 
it forward, from February in 1788 to April in 1795, a period of 
more than 7 years, and it occupied the House of Lords for 145 
days. The verdict of the court was given on the 23d of April, 
and Mr. Hastings was acquitted by a majority of the judges on 
all the charges preferred against him. 

The East India Company's charter, unless renewed, was to 
expire in 1783. This circumstance and the excitement pro- 
duced by the proceedings of Mr. Hastings in India, necessarily 
brought the affairs of the Company in England and in India 
before Parliament. The proceedings of the supreme court in 
Calcutta having caused great dissatisfaction to both Europeans 
and natives, an act was passed, defining its powers and prov- 
ince. This act was one of much importance to aU classes of 
the people. Several plans and schemes were discussed for the 
better government of India. Mr. Dundas, chairman of a select 
committee in the House of Commons, on Indian affairs, pre- 
pared a bOl, but a change of the ministry then occurring, he 
dropped the subject. Mr. Fox, then in power, proposed his plan 
for governing India, but it was lost in the House of Lords. 
JVIr. Pitt having succeeded to power, brought forward his plan.. 

17 



194 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The principal feature of this bill or of the change introduced by- 
it, was the creation of a Board of Control, to consist of 6 mem- 
bers of the Privy Council, of whom the Chancellor of the 
Exchequer and one of the Secretaries of State were to be two, 
and the senior of the other four was to be the President of the 
Board. This was essentially making a new Secretary of State 
for India, with a committee or council under him. The 
Board of Control thus became a part of the ministry for the 
time being, and this bill made them to a great extent the con- 
trolling and governing power over India. The biU specified 
what powers belonged to this Board, and also what powers and 
privileges stUl remained in the hands of the Directors and Pro- 
prietors. This biU made some important changes in the form 
and constitution of the East India Company, and it has been 
continued to the present time. 

The Court of Directors had appointed Lord Macartney, who 
was then governor of Madras, to succeed Mr. Hastings as 
governor-general in Bengal. But as Mr. Hastings wished to 
leave Bengal sooner than was expected, and Lord Macartney 
had not arrived, he resigned his office into the hands of the 
senior raiember of council, Mr. Macpherson. Lord Macartney 
soon after proceeded to Calcutta, but the state of his health was 
such that he did not assume the office of governor-general. 
After remaining a few days he sailed for England. 

The first governor-general appointed under the new consti- 
tution was Lord CornwaUis,* who arrived irj Calcutta and 
assumed the reins of government in September of 1786. The 
first object which claimed his attention, was the state of the 
Nabob of Oude. Mr. Hastings' proceedings at Oude formed a 
prominent part of the charges preferred against him at his trial. 
As soon as the Nabob heard of the amval of Lord Cornwallis 
in India, he proposed to come himself to Calcutta, and if not 
allowed to do so, he begged that he might send his minister. 
Lord CornwaUis investigated the affairs of the Nabob, and 
MiU says, " it appeared that for during the 9 preceding years 
the Nabob had paid to the Company under different titles at 

* The same who had recently acted so conspicuous a part in the war between 
the United States and England, and surrendered the British army at Yorktown. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 195 

the rate of 8,400,000 rupees (nearly $4,200,000) per annum, 
though by the treaty of 1775 he had bound himself to the 
annual payment of only 3,121,000 rupees, and by the treaty of 
1781 to that of 3,420,000 rupees. It was agreed that 5,000,000 
rupees should be the annual payment of the Nabob, and that 
this sum should embrace every possible claim. The governor- 
general declared that this was sufficient to indemnify the Com- 
pany for all the expense which it was necessary for them to 
incur in consequence of their connection with the Nabob. In 
other words, he declared that for the 9 preceding years unjusti- 
fiable extortion to the amount of 3,400,000 rupees annually had 
been practised on that dependent prince." 

The administration of Lord CornwaUis in Bengal, was chiejEly 
remarkable for some measures connected with the revenue. In 
India, from the earliest authentic history, the sovereigns obtained 
their revenue chiefly from .the produce of the land. And in 
the early and more rude state of society, the sovereigns took 
their part in Idnd. The cultivator was the owner of the land ; 
he could alienate it, or it could be taken and sold by a legal 
process for his' debts, and it descended to his heirs. But who- 
ever had possession of it, he was bound to pay the propor- 
tion claimed by the government, and if he failed to do this, 
government could enforce its claim by taking possession of 
the land and vesting it in others. The proportion claimed 
by the government varied in different provinces, and accord- 
ing to the different kinds of soil and produce. It has gen- 
erally varied from one half to one fourth. In the provinces of 
Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, the committee on Indian affairs 
assumed or determined that two fifths was the proportion of 
the produce for the cultivators, and three fifths for the govern- 
ment. And as the Mohammedan government in these prov- 
inces, instead of taldng their proportion of the produce in 
kind, had for some time required its estimated value in money, 
the committee determined that the same course should be pur- 
sued. If the case of the cultivators was hard when they 
were required to give three fifths of their produce to the gov- 
ernment, it became yet harder when they were required to pay 
the government the estimated value of the three fifths in money. 

The native government for realizing the revenue, had caused 



196 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the country to be divided into districts, and appointed a collec 
tor over each district. The collectors, commonly called Zem- 
indars, received a certain percentage, generally one tenth of the 
amount collected. They were merely the agents of govern- 
ment, with no right in the soil, but as they were seldom re- 
moved so long as they gave satisfaction, and the office fre- 
quently continued in the same family two or three generations, 
it came often to be regarded as a kind of hereditary property. 
There is a strong feeling in India to make every thing hered- 
itary. If a man holds any situation till he dies, his family 
wlU. always feel that they have a claim to the same place. 

It has aheady been stated that in the administration of Mr. 
Hastings, the land was divided into districts, and sold to the 
highest bidder for 5 years. The purchasers were generally the 
collectors of the taxes or rents, and they made the purchases 
with the expectation that at the close of 5 years, some further 
settlement would be made. But as the English government 
had not fixed on any system, the collectors generally contin- 
ued in charge on such terms as could be agreed upon with the 
government. But aU parties were in a dissatisfied state. Lord 
CornwaUis appears to have had strong aristocratical prejudices, 
and believed the country could be best governed and improved 
by creating a landed aristocracy. So the Zemindars, who were 
all natives of the country, were declared to be the landlords, or 
proprietors of their respective districts, upon condition of paying 
to the government annually a certain specified amount of taxes 
or rents, and the cultivators were aU declared to be the ten- 
ants of the Zemindars. Thus in provinces containing a pop- 
ulation of 30,000,000 of people, the cultivators of the land, in 
whose possession it had been for many generations, and whose 
right to it had never been questioned, were made the tenants 
of landlords (the Zemindars) who had previously no right 
whatever in the soU by inheritance, occupation, or purchase. 
It was intended at first, that this arrangement or settlement 
should continue for only 10 years, and then be made per- 
manent, if approved by the Court of Directors, and the results 
should be such as were anticipated. But Lord CornwaUis, 
after some delay, resolved to make this settlement permanent, 
and so it was made. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 197 

This was the greatest change yet made by any English ad- 
ministration in India. Indeed, so great a change was proba- 
bly never made in the state of any country by the mere 
enactment and operation of law. And probably no change ever 
produced more unhappy consequences — unhappy to the East 
India Company in its effects upon their revenue, and the im- 
provement of the country ; unhappy upon the Zemindars, many 
of whom became involved and insolvent ; and yet more unhappy 
upon the cultivators, who were oppressed and impoverished, and, 
to a fearful extent, ruined. Such is the general testimony and 
opinion of numerous writers upon this settlement. The au- 
thor of the Rise and Progress of the British Power in India, 
whose principal aim appears to have been to seek, in aU the 
proceedings of the East India Company, and of their gover- 
nors and agents, for what he could praise, and for circum- 
stances and reasons to excuse what he could not commend, 
says, "this attempt to create a landed aristocracy out of the 
hereditary contract agency in managing the land revenue, 
was attended by a vast subversion of individual property and 
the loss of a considerable portion of revenue to the State, 
without securing that relief to the cultivator of the soil which 
formed one of the principal objects contemplated on the intro- 
duction of the system." * And Sir H. Strachey, who Vv^as for 
many years one of the Company's magistrates in Bengal, de- 
clared, " that an almost universal destruction had overtaken 
the Zemindars, and that if any survived, they were reduced to 
the same condition and placed at an equal distance from 
their masters (the English), as the lowest ryots (cultivators)." 
Another historian of British India says : " It is impossible to 
read the accounts given, by the Company's most intelligent 
agents, of the state of the country, and of the causes of its 
moral decline, without receiving a fuU conviction that with 
the best intentions in the world, Lord CornwaUis, by his 
financial changes brought more injury upon British India, than 
had been brought by aU his predecessors put together." f 

A reform in the courts of law, or rather the introduction 
and establishment of a judicial system was not less required 

* Auber, vol. 2, p. 83. t Gleig, vol. 3, p. 132. 

17* 



198 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

than changes in the revenue. The revenue concerned the 
government ; the administration of justice concerned all classes 
of people. The country was divided into districts, and a series 
of courts, with appeals from the lower to the higher, was 
arranged. Europeans connected with the army were of course 
subject to military laws. Europeans in the other departments 
of government, and those unconnected with the government, 
were amenable to the Supreme Court in Calcutta. In respect 
to the native population generally, where both parties were 
Hindus, the matters in question were to be decided in accord- 
ance with Hindu laws, as defined and interpreted by the Hindu 
law-officers of the courts. So where both parties were Moham- 
medans, the decision was to be in accordance with the estab- 
lished principles of Mohammedan law. And where the parties 
were of different creeds, then the law of the defendant was to 
govern the decision. In the application of these general princi- 
ples, much must have remained for the discretionary consid- 
eration and decision of the magistrates. 

The great mistake in framing this system, and one which 
greatly embarrassed its operations, was the introduction of 
tedious and technical forms in conformity with EngHsh courts 
and usages. Here, as in the matters of revenue, the governor- 
general, though a man of great abihty, and with the best inten- 
tions, appears to have been misled by his admiration of every 
thing Enghsh, and by his not being sufficiently acquainted with 
the character, the history, and the habits of the native popula- 
tion, to see that such a system was not suited to them. So in 
the administration of justice among the people as well as of 
revenue for the government. Lord Cornwalhs's measures, in- 
stead of producing the good effects which were expected from 
them, became the cause of great, complicated, and long contin- 
ued evils. These two measures, one concerning the land rev- 
enue, and the other concerning the judiciary, were the greatest 
errors ever made by the Enghsh in then- government of India. 

In October, of 1793, Lord Cornwahis embarked for England, 
having been governor-general for 5 years. The East India 
Company gave him an annuity of X 5,000 for 20 years, to com- 
mence from the time he quitted India, and to be continued to 
his family in the event of his death. His salary had been 
<£ 25,000 annually, while in office. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 199 

Sir John Shore, subsequently Lord Teignmouth, then became 
governor-general, and held the office till 1798. He had previ- 
ously been many years in India, and so had much experience in 
the affau's of government. B&s administration gave general 
satisfaction in India as weU as in England. 

HISTORY OP MADRAS TILL 1800. 

Madras is the oldest of the English possessions in India. It 
was obtained by the East India Company in 1640, from a native 
prince, who had then some possessions on the Coromandel 
Coast. The territory acquked, consisted of only a few square 
miles. The English here erected a fort and called it St. George. 
The village or town has retained its original name Madras, or 
Madraspatam, the town of Madras. It was soon made the seat 
of the East India Company's government and agency on that 
coast, and has ever since retained its preeminence, having 
increased from a native village to a city of half a million of 
inhabitants. 

With the close of the 17th century the difficulties of the East 
India Company in England terminated, and with the 18th 
century a new era commenced. The two rival companies which 
had so long contended for the trade of India, had become united 
in one corporation to manage their affairs under legislative sanc- 
tion. Their charter gave them the exclusive right to the trade 
with all places east of the Cape of Good Hope, and power to 
seize and punish any of their nation, who should interfere with 
it. They had civil and criminal jurisdiction in the courts they 
had established. They had resolved to extend their power and 
to increase their revenue by acquiring territorial possessions. 
They had determined that " independence was to be established 
in India ; " and to become " a nation in India." And what was 
of great importance, they had all the experience acquired by the 
management of their extensive and complicated affairs, for more 
than a century. They knew the character, the power, and the 
weakness of the native princes and governments, and by obser- 
vation, social intercourse, and transactions of business, they had 
become well acquainted with the character, circumstances, and 
habits of all classes of the native population. 



200 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Arrangements were made in London for managing the affairs 
of the Company in a manner far superior to any that had be- 
fore existed. The proprietors assembled in due form for busi- 
ness, were called " the Court of Proprietors," and to take a 
part in the proceedings of this body, a proprietor must own 
.£500 of stock. The proprietors chose 24 of then- body to be a 
committee of management ; these were called the Directors, and 
when assembled for business, " the Court of Directors." But no 
one could become a Director, who did not possess ^2,000 of 
stock. 

In India the Company had 3 presidencies, namely, Calcutta, 
Madras, and Bombay. A presidency consisted of a president 
or governor, and council, all appointed by the Directors in Lon- 
don. Subordinate to these presidencies, were 80 factories scat- 
tered in all the considerable seaports and cities in India and 
other parts of southern Asia. Some of these factories were 
strongly fortified and garrisoned. 

For some years little of historical interest occurred in the 
afFahs of the Enghsh in India. In 1715, a physician by the 
name of Hamilton, who accompanied an embassy to Delhi, 
cured the emperor of a disease which had baffled the native 
physicians. For this service the emperor gave liberal presents 
to Hamilton ; he also gave 3 villages near Madras, and 37 vil- 
lages near Calcutta, to the East India Company. He also gave 
permission for then- agents to transport their goods through his 
dominions to some places without paying duty. The trade of 
the Company was generally prosperous. In 1717, they paid 
dividends of 10 per cent, upon a capital of ,£3,194,030, and 
this appears to have been the rate of dividend for 10 or 12 
years. 

In 1721, Indian cahcoes were so much used in England that 
they were considered " a great detriment and obstruction to the 
woollen and silk manufactures of the kingdom, and occasioned 
several riots and tumults among the weavers in London," in 
consequence of which Parliament passed an act, which " pro- 
hibited the wear of Indian printed cahcoes under a penalty of 
£5 for each offence on the wearer, and <£20 on the seller." This 
was rather a singular way of protecting domestic manufactures. 

The Company had great difficulty in obtaining a renewal of 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 201 

their charter in 1730. Among the means used for effecting this 
was the redaction of the interest upon the sums they had loaned 
to the Enghsh government from 5 to 4 per cent., and also the 
payment of a bonus of .£200,000 to the public service. The 
charter thus renewed was to continue tiU 1766, and if not then 
renewed, the 3 years' notice requned would extend the period till 
1769. In 1744, when the English nation was engaged in an 
expensive war, the Company offered to loan to the government 
.£1,000,000 upon 3 per cent, interest, provided their exclusive 
privileges should be extended to 1780, or with the 3 years' notice 
to 1783. On these conditions a new act to extend the charter 
was passed. The object of this measure on the part of the 
Company appears to have been to allay complaints in the public 
mind, and conciliate the good-will of the government; for the 
same act in order to enable them to make this loan to the gov- 
ernment authorized them to borrow the same amount upon 
their bonds. 

The Company now became involved in war on a larger 
scale, more severe in its character, and more perilous to theu' 
interests than ever before. 

The French did not engage in trade to the East Indies until 
nearly half a century after the English East India Company 
had been formed. Their first endeavors were to forrii a settle- 
ment on Madagascar, but this island does not yield any com- 
modities in sufficient quantity for any considerable exportation 
to any European market. The inhabitants are ferocious and 
warHke, and very unlike in their habits and character to the peo- 
ple of the southern parts of Asia and its islands. The French, 
after much harassing warfare and suffering, were compelled to 
leave Madagascar, and the survivors chiefly settled in Mauritius 
and Bourbon. The French East India Company then turned 
their attention to India, and established several factories in dif- 
ferent places. Among these Pondicheny held the first place. 
It was fortified ; its trade much increased, and its state was pros- 
perous. The French eastern possessions at this time consti- 
tuted two presidencies; namely, Mauritius which included 
Bourbon, and Pondicherry which included the factories in India. 

In 1744, England and France, which had for some time been 
engaged in war on opposite sides as auxifiaries, came to mutual 



202 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

declarations of war with each other. This war soon extended 
to their possessions in all parts of the world. In 1746, Labour- 
donnais, a man of great talent and energy, who had previously 
been governor of Mauritius, and was well acquainted with the 
state of India, collected a small fleet and attacked Madras. 
This city was the first place acquired by the English in India, 
and had been the capital of their possessions on the Coromandel 
Coast for more than 100 years. The territory was small, extend- 
ing about 5 miles along the shore and 1 mile inland. The pop- 
ulation was estimated at 250,000. The English amounted to 
only 300, of whom 200 were soldiers belonging to the garrison. 
The city was bombarded for 5 days, during which a few persons 
were killed, and 2 or 3 houses demolished. The people fearing 
an assault, became anxious for capitulation, and the city was 
surrendered, Labourdonnais promising that it should be restored 
again after a stipulated period and for a fixed ransom. The 
inhabitants were protected and all private property respected, 
but the French took possession of the warehouses and maga- 
zines of the East Lidia Company, and appropriated them to 
their own use. Having thus taken the capital of aU the Eng- 
lish possessions on the Coromandel Coast, Labourdonnais 
returned to Pondicherry without the loss of a single man. But 
here he found to his surprise that his gallant conduct, instead of 
being appreciated and approved as he expected, was severely 
censured. Dupleix, then governor of Pondicherry, an aspiring 
and ambitious man, apparently jealous of his fame and influence, 
opposed him in all his plans and treated him with so much con- 
tumely that, unable any longer to endure it, he sailed for France. 
There too, the misrepresentations of Dupleix had preceded him. 
One of Dupleix's brothers was a director in the French East 
India Company, and had much influence. Labourdonnais was 
thrown into the Bastile, where he remained in confinement for 3 
years, and died soon after he was released. 

It was never Dupleix's intention to fulfil the terms of the 
capitulation made by Labourdonnais to restore Madras again 
to the English, and the Nabob of Arcot, becoming fully satisfied 
of this, and exasperated by his deceitful and faithless conduct, 
espoused the part of the EngHsh and sent an army of 10,000 
men under his son to take Madras from the French. The gar- 



HISTORY THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 203 

risen at that time consisted of about 1,200 Europeans, who 
encountered the Nabob's army, astonished them with the rapid- 
ity and destructive fire of their artillery, routed them and gained 
a decided victory. A century before this battle was fought, the 
Portuguese had shown on several occasions the superiority of a 
small body of Europeans with their cool valor and disciplined 
skill in the time of conflict over the numerous, disorderly, and 
undisciplined armies which the princes of India bring into the 
field. But these victories of the Portuguese had apparently 
been forgotten, and the English and French, not having yet 
learned their own superiority from experience, were accustomed 
to look upon the emperors of Lidia as mighty monarchs, and 
their armies as brave and formidable. This spell was again dis- 
sipated, and the consequent estimation of the native armies 
opened before both nations, scenes of future conquest and 
power scarcely yet thought of. The opinion which they now 
began to form of their own power, soon led to very important 
results in their wars with the native governments. 

Dupleix, who was now in charge of the French interests in 
India, was a man of great ambition, energy, and talent. He 
had previously filled several important situations with much 
credit to himself and advantage to the public interests. He 
now formed plans of conquest and power for himself and his 
nation not inferior to those of any of the great conquerors, who 
in different ages have invaded India. Possessing an ample pri- 
vate fortune as well as the liberal salary of an Indian governor, 
he adopted the style of living and frequently the costume of an 
oriental prince, and the government house in Pondicherry, in its 
ceremonies, pomp, and gorgeous splendor resembled the palace 
and court of a Nabob or Emperor. The first step Dupleix took 
in pursuing his scheme was to retain the advantage already 
acquired over the Engfish, and proceed to expel them from all 
their possessions on the Coromandel Coast. Accordingly he 
sent orders to the officer in charge of Madras to declare publicly 
that the treaty of restoration for a ransom had been annulled, 
and to take possession of all magazines and aU articles of prop- 
erty, except the clothes which people wore, the furniture of then- 
houses, and the jewels of then- women. These orders were car- 
ried into effect with great severity. The English governor and 



204 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the most respectable men were carried prisoners to Pondi- 
cherry. 

Dupleix next laid siege to the fort of St. David, which was ' 
12 miles south of Pondicherry. The fort was small but strongly 
fortified, and the territory connected with it, was larger than the 
territory of Madras. He had but just commenced the siege, 
when the army of the Nabob of Arcot, appeared in sight to 
assist the Enghsh. The French force retreated, but not without 
some loss. Great efforts were made to gain over the Nabob to 
the French interests, and he was at last induced to join them. 
The siege of St. David was revived and prosecuted with vigor, 
but without the expected success, and Dupleix was compelled to 
abandon it. In 1748, a fleet of 9 ships of the royal navy, and 
11 ships of the East India Company with 1,400 men arrived, 
which added to those already in India, made the largest Euro- 
pean force ever in the country. The English were now in a 
state to commence offensive operations, and they resolved to 
besiege Pondicherry, the chief seat of the French power in 
India. They were now in high spuits expecting soon to see 
Pondicherry taken, and the French power humbled, if not anni- 
hilated. The siege was commenced, but was badly managed, 
the rainy season began, sickness broke out in the camp, and the 
Enghsh were obliged to abandon the place, a measure not more 
painful to them than joyful to the French. Soon after the siege 
was raised, and before offensive operations could be again com- 
menced, news arrived from Europe that peace had been made 
bet\\^een England and France, one condition of which was that 
Madras should be restored to the Enghsh. This restoration put 
each nation in possession of the same places and territories in 
India, which they had when the war commenced. Such was 
the result of several years of hard fighting and great expendi- 
ture of treasure and of life. No events of any importance 
occurred during the war in the other presidencies. In Bengal 
the viceroy of the emperor forbid the Enghsh and French to 
carry on any hostihties ^^dth each other in his dominions, and 
the French had no possessions in the Bombay presidency. 

The peace bet\\^een England and France produced a cessa- 
tion of hostihties between the English and French in India, and 
left each party in possession of the territories they possessed 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 205 

previous to the war. But both parties were left in circumstances 
unfavorable to continued peace. While the war was in prog- 
ress, they had received large reinforcements from Europe, and 
they had now a much larger force than was necessary for de- 
fence in a time of peace. This force must return to Europe, or 
hve on reduced pay, or find some employment in the country. 
They had learned their superiority over the native armies in 
valor and discipline. Personal and official intercourse with the 
native princes and courts had disclosed their weakness, fickle- 
ness, duplicity, and corruption. And there were among the 
English and the French many restless, ambitious, and aspiring 
men, who were anxious for opportunities to achieve great things 
for themselves, for their party, and for their nation. Such men 
were unwilling to return to Europe, or to remain idle in India. 

In these circumstances it is easy to see that peace was 
not Hkely to be of long continuance, and that if hostilities 
should again commence, they would be managed on a larger 
scale, and in a different manner, and would involve other parties 
and have greater ultimate objects in view than ever before. 
The English were the first to disturb the general tranquillity by 
taking part in the affairs of Tanjore, a small Hindu principality, 
about 200 miles nearly south from Madras. Sahujee, the Raja 
of Tanjore, had been expelled from his throne, and he applied 
to the English to reinstate him, promising to give them the fort 
and district of Devacotta. Their first attempt to obtain posses- 
sion of the fort was a failure. The second attempt was suc- 
cessful. The second attack was led by Lieut. Clive, who 
afterwards became so conspicuous in the affairs of India. A 
treaty was soon made with the reigning Raja of Tanjore, who 
ceded the fort and district to the English, and they abandoned 
the cause of Sahujee. 

In the mean time Dupliex was concerting plans to procure 
for the French the ascendency in the southern parts of India. 
At this time the principal Mohammedan princes in the southern 
parts of the peninsula, were the Nizam of Hyderabad, sometimes 
called the Subadar of the Deckan, and the Nabob of Arcot, 
sometimes called the Nabob of the Carnatic. These persons 
were originally subordinate to the emperor of Dellii, but in the 
state of anarchy which ensued upon the invasion of India by 

18 



206 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Nadir Shah, they had become gradually independent. Nazir 
Jung was now Nizam, but the office or throne was claimed by 
another member of the family, called Murzapha Jung. Anwur 
ud Deen was now Nabob, but the place was claimed by a man 
called Chunda Sahib. Duphex, having become acquainted with 
the state of parties in these native governments, saw that he 
might act an important part among them, and perhaps raise the 
French power to a state of supremacy over them all. Mur- 
zapha Jung and Chunda Sahib, having united their influence 
and forces to prosecute their claims, assembled an army and 
approached the Carnatic. The native princes had become 
aware of the superior valor and discipline of European troops, 
and were anxious to obtain the assistance of Duphex ; and he 
saw that by espousing their cause, he might obtain the highest 
advantage for himself and his nation. So he promised them 
assistance, and sent a considerable force under M. de Auteuil 
to their aid. The forces being united, they marched to attack 
Anwur ud Deen, who was then at Amboor, 50 miles west 
firom Arcot. The first and second assaults were repulsed, but 
the third was successful. Anwur was killed, his eldest son was 
taken prisoner, and his second son, Mohammed Ali, with the 
remains of his army, fled to Trichinopoly, of which fort he 
was governor. Murzapha Jung, and Chunda Sahib, then pro- 
ceeded to Arcot, and afterwards to Pondicherry, where Dupliex 
entertained them in oriental magnificence, and received from 
Chunda Sahib the cession of 81 villages in that province. They 
next went to Tanjore, and demanded a large sum of money, as 
arrears of tribute due to the Nabob of Arcot, or the Carnatic. 
While thus engaged, they heard that Nazir Jung was on his 
march with a very large force to attack them. They were much 
disconcerted at this news, and breaking up their camp, returned 
to Pondicherry. The state of matters now called forth the tal- 
ent of Dupliex for engaging in Indian pohtics. He exerted all 
his art and persuasion to encourage them ; he lent them i£ 50,000 
(nearly |250,000), saying he would let them have more if they 
required it, and he increased the French forces to 2,000. Still 
he was fearful of the power of Nazu- Jung, whose army was 
described as amounting to 300,000 men, and so he endeavored 
to negotiate a second treaty with him. The English had also 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 207 

engaged in secret negotiation for some time with Nizam ul 
Mulk and Nazir Jung, endeavoring to prejudice them against 
the French, and secure favor for themselves. They had assisted 
Mohammed Ali, by sending sopie small aid to Tanjore and to 
Trichinopoly. When they were informed of Nazir Jung's ap- 
proach with a large army. Major Lawrence proceeded to join 
him with 600 men. Some difficulties about this time occurred 
in the French force, and 13 officers resigned in one day. Their 
commander, D' Auteuil, becoming embarrassed and discouraged, 
returned with his division of the force to Pondicherry. Mur- 
zapha Jung and Chunda Sahib now lost all confidence in their 
army. The former surrendered and was cast into prison, and 
the latter took refuge in Pondicherry. 

Thus frustrated in his plans and calculations, DupKex had 
recourse to other expedients. In his negotiations with Nazir 
Jung, "he had learned that some Afghan chiefs, who had the com- 
mand of some regiments of their countrymen in his army, had 
conspired to dethrone him. He opened a corrimunication with 
these conspirators, and engaged to assist them in canying then- 
plan into effect. D' Auteuil, leaving Pondicherry, attacked Nazir 
Jung's camp in the night, and made great slaughter, when, sup- 
posing no enemy near, they were quite unprepared. The French 
also took Mausalapatam, the principal seaport on that coast. 
Major Lawrence, who commanded the English force, becoming 
dissatisfied with the Nizam's conduct, withdrew from his army, 
and so left an open field for the French. D' Auteuil now sent a 
force to take Gingee, a mountain fort, strongly fortified and cel- 
ebrated in Indian history, and they seized it in the night with 
but Kttle loss. Nazir Jung, who had been spending his time at 
Arcot in his favorite sport of hunting, and in the harem, was 
now roused to action and took the field, but unable for some 
time to accomphsh any thing decisive, and wishing to return to 
the Deckan, he opened negotiations with the French. Dupfiex 
prolonged this negotiation, and kept up his friendly communica- 
tion with the dissatisfied Afghan chiefs, till their plans for de- 
throning the Nizam were matured. At length they informed 
the French commander in Gingee of their concerted plans. He 
proceeded at once to attack the camp of the Nizam in the night, 
and in the confusion that followed, the Nizam was kUled by 



208 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

one of the Afghan chiefs. Murzapha Jung, who had remained 
in confinement since he surrendered himself, was now brought 
out and proclaimed to be the Nizam, or Subadar of the Dec- 
kan. 

By this sudden revolution Murzapha Jung, instead of being a 
prisoner of State, became the sovereign of a territory at that 
time larger in population than England or France. The treas- 
ure of Nazir Jung, of wliich he acquned possession, exceeded 
$12,000,000. This change in the subaship, or government, 
greatly increased the French influence. Murzapha Jung visited 
Pondicherry, where he was received with great pomp and 
installed on the throne of the Deckan, and Dupleix in return 
was created governor and collector in aU the districts on the river 
Kistna, a territory larger than France. Murzapha Jung ceded 
several districts to France in perpetuity, and paid Dupleix 
$250,000 for the expenses of the war. But he soon found his 
new situation to be surrounded with difficulties. The Afghan 
chiefs made heavy demands for the part they had performed in 
raising him to power. Dupleix exerted his influence for some 
satisfactory adjustment of these claims, but without effect, and 
Murzapha Jung left Pondicherry for the Deckan, accompanied 
by M. Bussy with a body of French troops. After a few days' 
march, the dissatisfaction of the Afghan chiefs resulted in an 
open revolt, in which Mm-zapha Jung was Idlled. Sulabat Jung, 
a brother of Murzapha Jung, was now proclaimed and installed 
Subadar. He promised the French to fulfil the engagements 
made by his predecessor, and the army proceeded on the way to 
the Deckan. 

The apathy and indifference with which the Enghsh contem- 
plated these proceedings, appear not less surprising than the 
remarkable success of the French. They were at length roused 
to make some efforts to retrieve their ckcumstances. They 
made an attack upon Madura, but were repulsed. They were 
defeated at Valiconda, and retreating on the approach of the 
enemy at Utatoor and at Pitchonda, took refuge in Trichin- 
opoly, where they were soon besieged by the united forces of 
Chunda Sahib and the French. This sad state of the Enghsh 
was further increased by an unhappy contention among their 
officers. While their affairs were in this discouraging state, a 



HISTOKY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 209 

new actor appeared on the stage. Mr. Robert CKve, afterwards 
so celebrated in the history of India, arrived at Madras in 1748, 
in the capacity of a writer of the East India Company. When 
the promised restoration of Madras was violated, he escaped to 
fort St. David in the dress of a Mohammedan. When the siege 
of Trichinopoly was undertaken, he was permitted to enter the 
army as an ensign. Here, on several other occasions, he exhib- 
ited great intrepidity and knowledge of mihtary tactics. When 
the expeditions for which he joined the army were finished, he 
returned to Madras to his own department of the government. 
But when he saw the distracted and discouraging state of the 
Enghsh affairs, he again joined the army, and having obtained a 
force of 500 men, of whom only 200 were Europeans, he made 
an attack on Arcot the Nabob's capital. The Nabob's troops, 
seeing the approach of this force, evacuated the place without 
maldng any resistance. It was not long before a detachment 
of 4,000 or 5,000 men arriving from Trichinopoly, he was 
besieged in the fort he had taken. He repelled their attacks 
with great vigor and abihty during a siege of 50 days, when the 
enemy becoming discouraged, raised the siege and withdrew 
from the place. He pursued them for some distance, and hav- 
ing gained some advantages over them and taken several small 
forts, he returned to Madras. 

The siege of Trichinopoly was stiU continued. But very 
considerable reinforcements now arrived from England. IMo- 
hammed Ali succeeded in obtaining aid from the Raja of Mysore, 
who sent a force of 20,000 men. The Raja of Tanjore was 
also induced to send a force of 5,000 men. In these circum- 
stances the Enghsh resolved to attack the French in their camp, 
but the French seeing the force arranged to attack them, aban- 
doned Trichinopoly and took possession of Seringham, an island 
in the river Coleroon. This place was soon attacked with vigor, 
and unable to make any further defence and suffering for pro- 
visions, Chunda Sahib surrendered to the Raja of Tanjore, and 
the French surrendered to the Enghsh. The Raja of Tanjore 
gave Chunda Sahib a promise of protection, but he was soon 
put to death. 

The state and prospects of the English were now encourag- 
ing beyond any former period, and those of the French in turn 

18* 



210 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

were uncertain and discouraging. But Dupleix was not to be 
easily disheartened, and began to form plans yet more extensive. 
M. Bussy, his agent, having placed Sulabat Jung on the throne 
of the Deckan, proceeded with him to Golconda and Aurunga- 
bad, when the Subadar entered upon his government with great 
parade and pomp. But he found a rival in Ghazee ud Deen, 
another son of Nizam ul Mulk, and Sulabat Jung soon saw 
that he must rely upon the French to sustain him in the office, 
which through their aid he had acquired. So he retained his 
power under the direction of M. Bussy. In the Carnatic, Du- 
pleix resolved if possible to restore the ascendency of the French 
by taking the advantage of the fickleness and weakness, the 
fortunes and misfortunes of the native princes. He had learned 
much of the native character, and he turned this experience to 
great advantage. "While the English were yet rejoicing in the 
success of their arms and allies in raising the siege of Trichin- 
opoly, they were surprised to learn that the Nabob, Mohammed 
Ali, had promised to cede this city and the territory around it to 
the Raja of Mysore, as the reward of the assistance he had 
given. He admitted that he had made the promise, but refused 
to fulfil it. Much negotiation followed, and the matter was pro- 
fessedly adjusted, but strong dissatisfaction was stiU cherished 
and certain soon to manifest itself. 

The next measure of the English was the reduction of Gin- 
gee, which was garrisoned by the French, and was the strongest 
fort in the Carnatic. A force supposed to be sufficient to take 
the fort was sent for this purpose, but it was defeated, and so 
the expedition failed. Dupleix also seized a company of Swiss 
who were in the English service and on the way to Madras. 
The French, elated with their success in different places, rein- 
forced their victorious army with as much force as they could 
send into the field. Major Lawrence made his arrangements to 
encounter the French force as soon as possible. Has force con- 
sisted of 400 Europeans, and 1,700 sepoys in the service of the 
EngHsh, and 4,000 sepoys belonging to the Nabob, and 9 pieces 
of cannon. The French force consisted of 450 Europeans, 
1,500 sepoys, and 500 cavahy. They met and fought at Bahoor. 
The English were victorious, but the eagerness of the Nabob's 
troops to plunder the French camp, prevented the English from 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 211 

realizing the full advantages of the victory. The rainy season 
now setting in, compelled both parties to withdraw their armies 
from the field. 

Li the mean time the siegfe of Trichinopoly was pressed by 
Nundraj, the commander of the Mysore troops. He, as well as 
the Raja of Tanjore and some Mahratta chiefs, then in the Car- 
natic with considerable force, were ready to join the English or 
the French, according as one or the other of these parties from 
time to time appeared to have the ascendency. A treaty having 
been negotiated between Nundraj the commander of the 
Mysore troops, and Dupleix, the latter sent a French force to 
assist in pressing the siege of Trichinopoly. The garrison was 
also soon after reinforced by a body of English troops. This 
siege is one of the most memorable in the history of Indian 
warfare, and continued for a year and a half. 

While these transactions were taking place in the Carnatic, 
M. Bussy was active in promoting the French interest in the 
Deckan. His influence in the councils of Sulabat Jung was 
felt to be humiliating to the great men at court, and excited their 
united opposition against him. They took the advantage of 
his temporary absence to diminish his influence, and to embar- 
rass his position. His troops did not receive their pay according 
to the terms of their service, and they were separated into 
detachments and stationed in different places. But on his return 
he soon collected them together. There was then fear of an 
invasion by the Mahrattas, which would make the assistance he 
could render in such case very important. This probable want 
of his aid, added to the injury it was in his power to do them, 
enabled him to take higher ground and exert more power than 
he had ever done before. He insisted that those who had shown 
themselves to be his enemies, should be excluded from the coun- 
cil, and to make up the arrears of pay and to prevent any such 
delay or delinquency in future, he obtained the cession of a large 
extent of territory in the Carnatic. This territory, added to the 
districts which the French previously possessed, gave them more 
than 600 miles of sea-coast, and an annual revenue of ^4,500,- 
000. The revenue of aU the possessions acquired by the Eng- 
lish during this long and arduous struggle, did not exceed 
$500,000 annuaUy. 



212 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The English and the French East India Companies, dissatis- 
fied with the expenses of these wars in India, and unable to 
approve of the proceedings of their agents, urged them to adjust 
their mutual difficulties. With a view to such a settlement they 
commenced examining and comparing their respective titles to 
the territories they claimed. It was soon found that no progress 
could be made in bringing their difficulties to a satisfactory con- 
clusion in this way, as each party declared the titles, papers, etc., 
produced by the other to be forged. Other proposals and offers 
were made, but nothing satisfactory to either party could be 
done. 

This severe and long-continued contention between the Eng- 
lish and French in India, occasioned earnest discussion between 
their respective governments in Europe. There was more dis- 
satisfaction in France concerning what the agents of their East 
India Company were doing, than in England concerning what 
their Company's agents had done. Large reinforcements were 
also preparing in London to proceed to India. In these cir- 
cumstances it was agreed between the two governments that 
Commissioners should be appointed to investigate all the mat- 
ters of difference, and make an adjustment of them upon such 
principles of equity as would be mutually satisfactory. On the 
part of the French Company, M. Godheu was appointed Com- 
missioner, with power civil and military over all the French pos- 
sessions in India, and on the part of the EngKsh Company, Mr. 
Sanders, their governor or president in council in Madras, was 
appointed. M. Godheu arrived at Pondicherry in 1754, and 
superseded Dupleix. An armistice of 3 months was agreed 
upon, and before the close of the year a provisional treaty, sub- 
ject to the ratification of their respective companies, was signed 
by the Commissioners. In this treaty the places and territories 
which each party was to retain, were specified. Each party 
engaged to withdraw from all interference in the affairs of the 
native princes, and never again to interfere in any wars or dis- 
sensions that might occur among them. AU hostilities were to 
cease, and the possessions of each party to remain as they were, 
till the decision of the respective companies in Em'ope should 
be known. 

Dupleix, as might be supposed, was exceedingly dissatisfied 



HISTORY — THE EUEOPEAN PERIOD. 213 

with the appointment of these Commissioners, reflecting as it 
did upon his conduct, and arresting his schemes for extending 
the French power in India. On the arrival of M. Godheu, he 
resigned all power into his hands. He dehvered up his accounts 
with the French Company, and showed that he had paid for 
the expenses of the war, X 400,000, nearly $2,000,000, out of 
his own private fortune. In October 1754, he embarked for 
Europe. On his arriving in France, the French East India 
Company declared that in nmch of what he had done in India, 
he had acted without any orders from them, and often contrary 
to their avowed principles and known purposes. They refused 
to reimburse any part of what he had expended from his own 
property on their account. He appealed to the French govern- 
ment, but they refused to interfere further, than " by granting 
him letters of protection against any prosecution which might 
be raised by his creditors." He published a statement of his 
services and the treatment he had received in return, which 
excited much attention and sympathy, and his case was gener- 
ally regarded as one of great hardship and injustice. 

This treaty was regarded by aU parties as favorable to the 
English interests,* and as the French East India Company had 
manifested a strong desire for peace in proposing to refer mat- 
ters of difference to a commission, and also in the adjustment 
of such matters in the treaty, there appeared to be reasons for 
hoping that the agents of the respective Companies would now 
quietly pursue the objects for which they had professedly gone 
to India. Such was the prospect when the commissioners San- 
ders and Godheu, soon after the conclusion of the treaty, em- 
barked for Europe. But such expectations were of short con- 
tinuance. The English soon began to interfere in the affairs of 
the Nabob of the Carnatic, and sent a force to assist him in 
reducing the districts of Madura and TinneveUy to submission. 
The French exclaimed against these proceedings as a violation 
of the treaty just made. And when they saw that their remon- 
strances were disregarded, they began to foUow the example of 

* " By this treaty, every thing for which they had been contending was gained 
by the English ; every advantage of which they had come into possession was 
given up by the French." — Mill. 



214 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the English, and sent a body of troops against the Raja of 
Terrore. Each party soon appeared as intent and as unscrupu- 
lous in endeavoring to secure every possible advantage, as they 
were before the treaty was made. Thus matters soon became 
as much involved and hostihties again were as severe, as they 
had been before the treaty was ratified. Whatever might be 
the state of England and France towards each other, war ap- 
peared likely to be continued between the two nations in India, 
as long as they should be able to support it. 

Such was the state of matters in India, when war commenced 
between England and France in 1756. The French, now bet- 
ter informed in respect to the state of India, resolved to acquire 
and then maintain their ascendency there, and with this view 
despatched a large force under the command of Count Lally, an 
officer who had distinguished himself on several occasions by 
great intrepidity and valor. The day LaUy arrived at Pondi- 
cherry, he despatched a force to take St. Davids, then the strong- 
est and most important of the English possessions on that coast. 
The whole besieging force at St. Davids consisted of 2,500 
Europeans, exclusive of officers, and about as many sepoys. 
The garrison consisted of 800 Europeans and 1,600 sepoys. 
The siege was urged on with great vigor, and in 5 weeks the 
fort was compelled to surrender. The garrison became prison- 
ers of war, and the fortifications were all demolished. He then 
sent a detachment against Devacotta, which the garrison imme- 
diately abandoned. He then returned with his army to Pon- 
dicherry in triumph, and caused Te Deum to be celebrated. 
Elated with his success, LaUy resolved to follow up his plan, 
and to expel aU the English from the country without delay. 
But he was much embarrassed for want of funds, and he re- 
solved to enforce some old claims against the Raja of Tanjore, 
who was reported to possess much hoarded wealth. So he pro- 
ceeded to Tanjore and laid siege to the fort. But before he was 
able to get possession of it, news was brought that an EngHsh 
fleet had anived on the coast, when in accordance with the ad- 
vice of a council of war, he raised the siege. He next proceeded 
to take Arcot, and several smaller forts, where his wants were 
partially suppUed. He next made arrangements to lay siege 
to Madras, where he arrived in January of 1758, with an 



HISTORY THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 215 

army of 3,500 Europeans, and 4,000 natives. The garrison 
consisted of 1,758 Europeans, and 2j220 natives. When the 
siege had continued for 2 months, an English fleet arrived with 
a large reinforcement. Lally then raised the siege and returned 
to Pondicherry. The French army suffered much, while carry- 
ing on the siege, for want of provisions and other things. For 
the first 5 weeks, the officers and soldiers received only half-pay, 
and for the last 3 weeks they received no pay. For some time 
they were nearly in a state of mutiny, and ready to desert, or 
to go over to the English. 

When the French were compelled to raise the siege of Ma- 
dras, and every way embarrassed for want of funds, the Enghsh 
thought the time favorable for them to regain what they had 
lost, and to extend their power and influence. " But they 
also found their operations cramped by the narrowness of their 
funds," and so could not improve the advantages before them. 
And considering the spirit that animated both parties, it was 
well for the native princes and for the general peace of the coun- 
try, that both the English and the French had not the means to 
gratify their desires, and prosecute their ambitious schemes of 
power and conquest. Each party was earnestly engaged with 
such resources as they could command in extending or defend- 
ing their possessions, and both were waiting anxiously for ex- 
pected aid from Europe. 

The reinforcement from England having arrived at Madras, 
the English were now in circumstances to enter upon more ac- 
tive operations. They were under the command of Sir Eyre 
Coote, who subsequently acquired much celebrity in Indian 
warfare. After many marches and manoeuvres, the chief force 
of the two armies met at Wandewash. Accounts differ in re- 
spect to the amount of their force. The most probable account 
says that the English force consisted of 1,900 Europeans, 2,100 
sepoys, and 125 native cavalry ; and that the French consisted 
of 2,250 Europeans, and 1,300 sepoys. In this battle the 
French were defeated, and suffered great loss. This victory de- 
cided the supremacy of the English power over the French in 
India. The English continued then- course of success by taking 
some smaller forts and extending their power over the Carnatic, 
till Pondicherry was the only place on the coast w^hich remained 
in the hands of the French. 



216 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN 

The English, having received several large reinforcements, 
and the French not having received any for a long time. Sir 
Eyre Coote made arrangements for besieging Pondicherry. In 
September, the place was closely besieged, and aU supplies were 
cut off. Li January, the garrison being no longer in a position 
to offer any effectual resistance, and much straitened for pro- 
visions, the city was surrendered to Sir Eyre Coote. The gar- 
rison then consisted of 2,072 Europeans. In the fort were 500 
pieces of cannon, 100 mortars and howitzers, and a great quan- 
tity of ammunition and military stores. 

Thus feU Pondicherry, which had long been the capital of the 
French possessions in India. Their few remaining forts soon 
surrendered, and in a few months nothing was left to them of 
the territories, which only a few years before had extended for 
600 miles on the sea-coast, and yielded a yearly revenue of 
$4,500,000. 

Three days after the surrender of Pondicherry, Lally sailed for 
Europe. He had been in bad health for some time. He was 
worn out with vexation and anxiety, and exhausted with exer- 
tion and fatigue. The latter part of his life in Lidia had been 
one continual series of disappointments, losses, and misfortunes. 
And yet greater trials and sufferings awaited him on his arrival 
in France. Public feehng had become much exasperated by the 
loss of possessions, and of national character in India. The 
idea of a great Indian empire, as set forth in the aspirations and 
plans of Labourdonnais, Duphex, and Lally, had been too fondly 
cherished to be given up without feehngs of strong indignation 
and revenge against some party, and cu-cumstances now 
directed the chief force of this excitement against the late 
governor-general. Conscious of having used his best exertions 
for the honor of his country, and the interest of the French East 
India Company, Lally vindicated himself with energy, and im- 
prudently accused Bussy and some others, who in retm-n retal- 
iated, by charges against him. " These charges were vague 
and frivolous, and nothing whatsoever was proved against him, 
except that his conduct did not come up to the very perfection 
of prudence and wisdom, and that he did display the greatest 
ardor in the service, the greatest disinterestedness, fideUty, and 
perseverance, with no common share of mihtary talent and 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 217 

mental resources." And yet he was thrown into the Bastile, 
and a sentence of death was procured against him. Conscious 
of his innocence, he was confidently expecting an honorable ac- 
quittal, and when the sentence of death was read to him in the 
prison, he exclaimed with astonishment, " Is this the reward of 
45 years' service ? " and attempted to kill himself with a pair of 
compasses with which he had been sketching the coast of Coro- 
mandel. He was carried to the place of execution in a com- 
mon cart, and a gag was forced into his mouth, lest he should 
address the people. 

The struggle between the English and the French for ascen- 
dency in India, closed with the faU of Pondicherry. Labourdon- 
nais, Duphex, Bussy, and LaUy were men of great ambition and 
great ability. Their views and plans extended to the creation 
of a great empire in India, subject to France ; — such an empire 
as we now see subject to England, though it appears not then 
to have been thought of by any of the English governors, officers, 
or agents, who carried on these wars with the French. Duphex 
for some time adopted the dress and manners, the style and 
pomp of an oriental Nabob. To him has been ascribed the 
origin and successful experiment of enfisting native regiments 
under European ofiicers, training them in European discipline, 
and so making them efficient for permanent service; — a practice 
which the Enghsh soon began to imitate, and which is yet the 
system of their army in India. Had the French government 
and their East India Company supported their interest in India 
as vigorously and liberally as the Enghsh government and East 
India Company supported their interests, the French apparently 
might have sustained the ascendency which they at one time 
possessed, might have expeUed the Enghsh from India ; the am- 
bitious aspirations and schemes of Labourdonnais, Duphex, and 
LaUy might then have been realized, and all India now be as 
subject to France, as it is to England. 

These wars between the English and the French in India, 
though they occupy no prominent place in general history, and 
even in the history of the country appear small when compared 
with the great armies engaged, and the great battles fought in 
the wars between the Enghsh and Hyder Ah, Tippoo Sultan, 
the Mahrattas, the Afghans, and the Silchs, yet when considered 

19 



218 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

in their consequences, were the most important wars in the 
European history of the country. These wars, though hmited 
to the Carnatic, were yet in reality a severe and long-continued 
struggle for ascendency, and for the government of India. The 
issue of these wars was to be no other than whether the 
English or the French should be the governing power of the 
country, whether India should become a dependency of England, 
or of France. Such was the view of Labourdonnais, DupKex, 
and LaUy, and had the French power in India been supported 
by their own country, they might have kept the ascendency they 
had acquired and for some time held, and they might have ex- 
pelled the English from the country. But France failed to sup- 
port her cause in India, and censured and punished, even with 
imprisonment and death, the distinguished men who had done 
their utmost to support her cause and extend her power, while 
England supported her cause with great vigor, supplying 
money, men, and aU the materials of war, and rewarding those 
who distinguished themselves in her service (as Clive, Hastings, 
CornwaUis, and others), with wealth and honors. And the con- 
sequences of this different course of policy were, the French 
were expelled, their power annihilated, and India has long been 
included in the foreign possessions of England. 

In view of this whole subject, we cannot but feel some satis- 
faction in looking at the result. Had the French succeeded in 
then object of becoming the controlling power of India, there is 
reason to beKeve they would have pursued a course of conquest 
in ways and by means at least as unscrupulous as the Enghsh 
have used. The French have never succeeded so well as the 
English in governing their foreign possessions, and there is rea- 
son to believe that the state of India has been better under the 
government of England than it would have been under the gov- 
ernment of France. Had France become the governing power 
of India, the religion of the Em-opean population in it would 
have been Roman Catholic, and if we may judge from the 
French pohcy in their foreign possessions, no other form of 
reUgion would be tolerated ; or if tolerated, they would allow no 
means to be used for propagating any other form of Chris- 
tianity, and so all the inhabitants would be shut up to receive 
the Roman CathoHc faith, or to continue in then present re- 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 219 

ligious state of ignorance, superstition, bigotry, and idolatry. 
There is reason, therefore, in contemplating the present religious 
state and prospects of India, for thankfulness to Him who rules 
among the nations, and disposes of countries and Idngdoms ac- 
cording to his pleasure, that this country with its vast popula- 
tion has come under the government of England, rather than of 
France or any other European nation. 

The overthrow of the French power in the Carnatic, left the 
English in the possession of paramount influence in that part 
of India. The Nabob was the generally acknowledged sover- 
eign of the country, but he owed his elevation to the English, 
and he had no means of successfully resisting any demands 
which they might make upon him. Previous to the taking of 
Pondicherry, he had offered to pay certain sums towards the 
expenses of the war, if certain advantages in return were con- 
ceded to him, and he pretended to beKeve that his offers had 
been accepted. But it was not so understood by the English. 
After much negotiation, and after being assisted by them in 
exacting large sums of money from some native princes in his 
territories, he engaged to pay them 50 lacks of rupees, (|2,500,- 
000). But the Enghsh wanted something besides money for 
expenses already incurred. It was important in their view to 
reduce his power of troubling them in future, and they wanted 
the means of supporting a much larger military force than they 
now had. So they demanded, and he was compelled to cede to 
them 4 districts. The governor of Madura had paid no tribute 
for several yea,rs, and in the distracted state of the country, was 
gradually acquiring independence. On his refusing to pay the 
amount demanded of him, the Nabob and the English united 
their forces in attacking him. He defended his territory and 
fortress with great ability, and the war unexpectedly cost a great 
amount of treasure and of life. And at last it was only by 
treachery that they obtained possession of his person and ter- 
minated the struggle. 

The war between the English and the French closed in India 
with the surrender of Pondicherry, but it was some time before 
it ceased between France and England. In the treaty of peace 
between the two nations in 1763, it was agreed that each nation 
should restore to the other the possessions acquired in India 



220 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

during the war, while France renounced all right to any con- 
quests she had made there in the war. So by this treaty France 
recovered some of her former possessions on the Coromandel 
Coast, but these were small when compared with those which 
remained in the possession of England. 

But the Carnatic was not to enjoy any long repose. In 1761, 
Nizam Ali found means to imprison his brother Sulabat Jung, 
then Subadar of the Deckan, and assumed the office and dig- 
nity. After keeping Ms brother in prison for 2 years, he caused 
him to be put to death. In 1765, he collected a large army and 
marching into the Carnatic, plundered and laid waste the coun- 
try. The Nabob and the English united their forces and pro- 
ceeded to meet him. But he had no wish to risk an engage- 
ment, and so retreated hastily into the Deckan. This invasion 
and the means by which Nizam Ali had acquired his power, 
clearly showed his character, and were calculated to make the 
English watchful about his future course. Just at that time 
Lord CKve called at Madras on his way from England to Ben- 
gal. On learning the state of affairs at Madras and in the prov- 
inces which then constituted the Madras presidency, he resolved 
to use the emperor of Delhi, then in a state of dependence upon 
the Enghsh, to increase their power and territory. So he ob- 
tained two firmans from the emperor, one ceding the provinces 
caUed the Northern Circars to the English, and the other 
appointmg Mohammed Ali to be Nabob of the Carnatic. The 
English proceeded to take possession of the newly acquired 
provinces. Nizam Ali was greatly offended at these proceedings, 
and declaring that the Northern Circars were a part of his own 
territory, and that the Nabob owed fealty to him and not to the 
emperor, he began to make great preparations to attack the 
Nabob and the English. The governor and council at Madras 
were alarmed at the prospect of such a war in the exhausted 
state of their treasury, and opened negotiations with Nizam Ali. 
A treaty of peace was made, in which the English engaged to 
pay a large annual tribute to the Subadar for the Circars, and 
to assist him with troops in the event of a war. This treaty was 
severely censured by the Court of Dnectors, especially the engage- 
ment to assist the Subadar, as this was likely to involve them 
with other native powers. And it was when assisting the 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 221 

Subadar, in accordance with this treaty, that the English &st 
came in conflict with Hyder Ali, the most powerful enemy 
they ever encountered in their wars in India. 

Hyder Ali, who acquired so^ much notoriety in the history of 
India, was descended from ancestors who came from the north- 
ern provinces, and settled in Mysore. He passed his youth in 
destitute circumstances, and having enjoyed no advantages of 
education he was never able to read or to write. On entering the 
army at the age of 27, he soon distinguished himself in various 
ways, and became the captain of an organized company of free- 
booters, who were authorized to rob and plunder in any provinces 
of the enemy upon condition of paying to their prince, a certain 
part of what they realized. In this way he became rich, and ac- 
quired a high character for the daring valor and ability with 
which he managed and achieved whatever he undertook. Such 
qualities in the armies of India soon attract attention, and when 
animated by an ambitious and aspfring spirit, secure rapid pro- 
motion. In a few years Hyder had the command of 10,000 men, 
and stood high in the confidence of the Raja of Mysore. It 
became evident that he was determined to acquire as much 
influence, rank, and power as he could, and that he would have 
no scruples in respect to using any means for accompHshing his 
purpose. At that time the Raja of Mysore was young and 
effeminate, and the affairs of the Idngdom were managed by 
two brothers, Devraj and Nundraj. The former soon died, and 
the latter being profligate and unpopular, Hyder managed to 
obtain the command of the army. By a long course of intrigue, 
duplicity, treachery, and treason, such as compose a large part 
of the history of eastern courts and princes, Hyder became the 
sovereign of Mysore, only allowing to the Raja an annual sum 
for his personal and family expenses. 

The ambitious and restless spirit of Hyder could not long 
remain quiet, and he soon began to enlarge his dominions by 
conquest, and replenish his treasury with plunder. In Bednore, 
the plunder he obtained, was estimated at X 12,000,000, or nearly 
$60,000,000. The Mahrattas, then the terror of aU India, made 
a sudden invasion into Mysore, defeated Hyder, and could only 
be tm-ned back by a cession of ten'itory, and the payment of a 
large sum of money. Still Hyder continued his attacks on the 

19* 



222 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

princes around Mysore. Among these was the Zamorin of 
Calicut, so distinguished in the early wars of the Portuguese in 
India. This prince, rather than endure the disgrace and suffer- 
ings that awaited him from Hyder, set fire to his house and per- 
ished in the flames. 

The ambitious spirit of Hyder and the success of his plans, 
excited the larger powers of southern Lidia, and a confederacy 
of the Mahrattas, the Nizam, and the English was formed 
against him. The Mahrattas arrived on the confines of Mysore 
two months before the other confederates. Hyder endeavored 
to prevent their fm-ther advance " by causing all the grain to be 
buried, the wells to be poisoned, the forage to be consumed, and 
the cattle to be driven away." These means did not prevent 
their progress, and finding they would soon penetrate the heart 
of his dominions, he resolved if possible to separate them from 
the confederacy, and sent a messenger to negotiate a treaty. In 
this attempt he was successful, and the Mahrattas agreed, for a 
certain sum of money (|6,750,000),to return to the Deckan. In 
the mean time the Nizam and the English force under Col. 
Smith, had entered Mysore. It was soon apparent that the 
Nizam was not cordial in his feelings towards the Enghsh, and 
some events which occurred about this time increased his disaf- 
fection. Hyder becoming aware of the feehngs of the Nizam, 
commenced a secret correspondence with him which soon 
resulted in a treaty of union against the English. The Nizam, 
when remonstrated with for such conduct, consented to Colonel 
Smith's quietly retreating towards Madras before he should be 
molested. The forces of the Nizam and Hyder, when united to 
attack the retreating English, consisted of 43,000 horse and 
28,000 foot, while Colonel Smith had only 6,000 infantry and 
1,000 cavalry. They had also the advantage of an accurate 
knowledge of the country, and of the cooperation of the inhab- 
itants for want of which Colonel Smith suffered much. Still 
he was able to repel all their attacks, and to their astonishment 
he found means to sustain his force and continue his retreat, not- 
withstanding all their efforts to reduce him to straits and compel 
him to surrender. The Nizam seeing this unexpected state of 
affairs, and hearing that his own dominions were invaded by an 
Jinglish force from Bengal, entered into a treaty with the Eng- 



HISTOET — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 223 

lish and withdrew to his own territory. The hostile parties now 
were the English and Hyder, and the war was prosecuted with 
vigor on both sides, the English generally acting on the defen- 
sive for 2 years, when " a treaty was concluded in April, 1769, 
on the condition of placing the possessions of both parties with 
scarcely an exception on the same footing as before the war." 
This confederacy of the English with the Mahrattas and the 
Nizam against Hyder cost a great amount of treasure and life 
for which they gained nothing, wliile Hyder was left at the close 
of the war more powerful than he was when it commenced. 

One reason which induced Hyder to desire peace with the 
English, was some apprehension of another invasion by the 
Mahrattas. Nor was this apprehension without cause, for they 
soon entered his dominions in much larger force than before, 
and under able commanders. Hyder's efforts to impede their 
progress and to resist them in the open field proved unavailing, 
and they proceeded to besiege his capital, Seringapatam. But 
the Mahrattas had not skiU sufficient for such a strong fortress, 
and soon became weary of carrying it on. Hyder was gradu- 
ally collecting his strength against them, and at length after 
gaining some advantages over them, he offered such terms of 
peace that the Mahrattas were glad to accept them and return 
to their own country. Hyder thus relieved, continued to enlarge 
his dominions by subduing and plundering the petty native 
princes with the usual barbarity and cruelty of Indian warfare. 
The manner in which the fort of Chittledroog was defended, 
shows the fearful and debasing superstition of the Hindus. On 
the highest part of the fort they had erected a temple to Karlee 
or Doorga, the Hindu goddess of destruction, and they believed 
that so long as the goddess was propitiated, the place could not 
be taken. At fixed times the goddess was worshipped with 
solemn rites (that is, these rites were performed before her 
image), and then a bugle was blown and the garrison rushed 
forth, shouting the names of the goddess to procure human 
heads to be suspended before her image, and thus propitiate her. 
These attacks were made with so much fury, frenzy, and success, 
that if such bloody offerings could have preserved the place, it 
would have been secure. When this fort was taken, 2,000 
human heads, aU which had been offered to Karlee, were piled 
up before her temple. 



224 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Hyder was now advanced in years, supposed to be nearly 80. 
He had long been intemperate in his habits, and as might be 
expected, had become capricious, irritable, and self-willed. He 
had for some years been becoming more prejudiced towards the 
English, and had endeavored to form a treaty with the Mahrat- 
tas to expel the hated foreigners from India. The war between 
England and France, consequent upon the war between the 
North American colonies (now the United States) and England 
having commenced, the EngKsh proceeded at once to take aU 
the French possessions in India. This gave offence to Hyder, 
who was inclined to the French interests. It was at this time 
that Schwartz, the Danish missionary, was sent by the governor 
and council of Madras, on a mission to Seringapatam. Hyder, 
who was previously acquainted with his character, received him 
kindly, and on his return intrusted to Mm a letter containing a 
list of the wrongs he had suffered from the English, and added, 
" I have not yet taken my revenge." In June, 1780, Hyder 
mustered his forces at Seringapatam, consisting of 23,000 horse, 
53,000 foot of various kinds, 2,000 rocketmen, 5,000 pioneers, 
and about 400 Europeans. He caused prayers to be offered in 
all the mosques, and religious ceremonies in aU the Hindu tem- 
ples, for the success of his expedition. He then proceeded into 
the Carnatic, plundered the inhabitants and laid waste the coun- 
try.* This attack found the Madras government quite unpre- 

* Tlie following is Mr. Burke's grapMc description of ttis invasion, and gives 
a striking view of the barbarities of wars in India, when carried on by the 
native princes. 

" ^Vhen at length Hjder found that he had to do with men who would sign 
no convention, whom no treaty and no signature could bind, and who were the 
determined enemies of human intercourse Itself, he determined to make the 
country possessed by these incorrigible and predestined criminals a memorable 
example to mankind. He resolved, in the gloomy recesses of a mind capable of 
such things, to leave the whole Carnatic an everlasting monument of vengeance, 
and to put perpetual desolation as a barrier between him and those against 
whom the faith which holds the moral elements of the world together, was no 
protection. He became at length so confident of his force and so collected in 
his might, that he made no secret whatever of his dreadful resolution. Having 
terminated his disputes with every enemy and every rival, who buried their 
mutual animosities In their common hatred against the creditors of the Nabob 
of Arcot, he drew from every quarter whatever a savage ferocity could add to 
his new rudiments in the art of destruction, and compounding all the materials 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 225 

pared. Embarrassed for want of money and distracted in coun- 
cil, they made no well-arranged and effectual resistance to 
Hyder's career of conquest and devastation, till Sir Eyre Coote 
arrived from Bengal wdtli considerable force and treasure, to take 
the command. No officer then in India enjoyed so high a repu- 
tation, or had so much experience of Indian warfare, as Sir 
Eyre Coote, and his presence and arrangements soon inspired 
the army with new corn-age. Hyder was soon compelled to 
raise the siege of several places. As the country had been laid 
waste, the English suffered much for want of provisions, and 
also for means to remove their military stores, etc., with them. 
After much desultory and harassing warfare, Sir Eyre Coote 
defeated Hyder in two or three partial engagements, and the 
war began to assume a less discouraging aspect. But there 
were other difficulties besides the war. The depredations of 
Hyder, and the large mihtary forces spread over the Carnatic, 
had destroyed or consumed the crops, and a severe famine in 
several provinces was the consequence. In no place was this 
famine so dreadful as at Madras, where many thousands died 

of fury, liavoc, and desolation into one black cloud, he hung for a while on the 
declivities of the mountains. While the authors of all these evils were idly and 
stupidly gazing on this menacing meteor, which blackened all their horizon, it 
suddenly burst and poured down the whole of its contents upon the plains of the 
Carnatic. Then ensued a scene of woe the like of which no eye had seen, no 
heart conceived, and which no tongue can adequately describe. All the horrors 
of war before known or heard of, were mercy compared with this new havoc. 
A storm of universal fire blasted every field, consumed every house, and de- 
stroyed every temple. The miserable inhabitants, flying from the flaming vil- 
lages, in part were slaughtered ; others without regard to sex or age, to the 
respect of rank or the sacredness of function, parents torn from children, and 
husbands from their wives enveloped in a whirlwind of cavalry, amid the goad- 
ing spears of drivers and the trampling of pursuing horses, were swept into cap- 
tivity' in an unknown and hostile land. Those who were able to evade this 
tempest, fled to the walled cities ; but escaping from fire, sword, and exile, they 
fell into the jaws of famine. For 18 months without intermission this destruc- 
tion raged from the gates of Madras to the walls of Tanjore. And so com- 
pletely did these masters in their art, Hyder and his ferocious son, absolve them- 
selves from their impious vow that when the British armies traversed as they 
did the Carnatic, for hundreds of miles in all directions through the whole line 
of their march, they did not see a man, or a woman, or a cliild, or a four-footed 
beast of any description. One dead universal silence reigned over the whole 
region." 



226 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of starvation. Sir Eyre Coote now became too feeble to super- 
intend the affairs and direct the operations of the army, and 
retm-ned to Calcutta. This was a severe stroke to the English, 
but its force was somewhat mitigated by the death of Hyder. 
The death of the heads of both parties suspended active opera- 
tions for some time. Hyder's son Tippoo, who had aheady dis- 
tinguished himself for his military talents, succeeded his father 
and urged on the war with vigor. The government of Bombay 
attacked the dominions of Tippoo on the Malabar Coast, with 
so much vigor and success that he withdrew from the Carnatic 
to the western provinces, where his presence was more needed. 
The war between England and France still continued, and a 
French fleet more than once left a considerable force on the 
coast which joined the army of Tippoo. These greatly strength- 
ened him and discouraged the EngKsh, when to their great joy 
they heard that peace had been made between France and Eng- 
land. Negotiations were opened with Tippoo, but peace was 
not obtained for more than a year, and then " it was on the gen- 
eral condition of a mutual restitution of conquests." 

Tippoo, often called in the history of India Tippoo Sultan, was 
ambitious, intriguing, superstitious, and cruel. Hyder professed 
the Mohammedan faith, as his forefathers for many generations 
had done, but he was tolerant towards Christians and Hindus, 
and not disposed to molest them while quietly following their 
own religion. Tippoo was as earnest and as unscrupulous in 
propagating the faith of Mohammed, as he was in enlarging 
his dominions. In the western provinces of his dominions were 
many Roman CathoKcs, who had been converted from heathen- 
ism by the Portuguese and other Romish missionaries. He 
collected these together to the number of 60,000,* compelled 
them to be circumcised, and then distributed them in his army 
and his garrisons. In the province of Coorg, he compelled 70,- 
000 Hindus to submit to the same rite, and profess the faith of 
Mohammed. 

Tippoo's restless spirit and gTOwing power soon attracted the 
attention of the Mahrattas, who formed an alliance with the 
Nizam, and uniting their forces, they invaded his dominions. 

* Abbe Dubois, -who was then in Mysore. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 227 

But they found a far more formidable enemy than they ex- 
pected, and after suffering some reverses, they made peace with 
him, and returned to their own territories. The successful issue 
of this war greatly increased the fame of Tippoo. He was now 
at liberty to extend his dominions, and to propagate the Moham- 
medan faith. His father had conquered the country lying be- 
tween the Ghat mountains and the sea, and Tippoo now 
resolved to convert the inhabitants to his own rehgion, declaring 
that " they were all born in adultery, and more shameless in 
their connections than the beasts of the forests." They, on the 
other hand, had a great abhorrence of the Mohammedan religion, 
and many of them fled from their country rather than submit to 
cu'cumcision and eat beef. He carried on this war of proselyt- 
ism till he boasted that he had destroyed 3,000 temples with aU 
their idols. In extending his dominions, he made an attack 
upon the kingdom of Travancore, which was in the extreme 
southern part of the peninsula. The ruler of this province had 
some time before entered into a treaty, offensive and defensive, 
with the Enghsh, and by this attack, Tippoo incurred their dis- 
pleasure. In his first attack upon the fortified posts of Travan- 
core, Tippoo was repulsed with great loss. He was near being 
taken prisoner, and lost his weapons, seals, etc. Chagrined at 
being thus repulsed by an enemy he despised, Tippoo was 
greatly enraged, and collecting aU his forces, prosecuted the war 
with great vigor and barbarity, and soon overrun the whole 
province. 

The Marquis Cornwallis, at this time the governor-general of 
India, on hearing of this attack of Tippoo upon Travancore, 
resolved to commence hostilities as soon as possible, and with 
this view he formed an alliance with the Nizam and the Mahrat- 
tas against the Sultan. The command of the English force 
was intrusted to General Medows. The campaign was com- 
menced in June, 1790. Dindigul, Paulgaut, and several other 
forts were taken, and the Enghsh force penetrated far into My- 
sore, but the disasters and reverses, originating chiefly in the 
severity of the monsoon and in ignorance of the countay, soon 
compelled them to retreat with much loss. In the mean time, 
Tippoo, with a large body of cavalry, invaded the Carnatic, 
laying waste the country, or levymg extreme contributions upon 



228 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

the inhabitants. He also proceeded to Pondicherry, and at- 
tempted to form an alliance with the French. The governor- 
general, becoming dissatisfied with the manner in which the war 
was carried on, resolved to take the command himself. He 
arrived at Madras early in 1791, and having made the requisite 
arrangements proceeded by rapid marches to Bangalore, which 
was strongly fortified and contained the Sultan's harem and 
treasury. These Tippoo found means to remove before the 
English could invest the place. The governor-general, having 
taken Bangalore, resolved to proceed with as httle delay as pos- 
sible to attack Seringapatam, the Sultan's capital. When the 
Enghsh force reached Seringapatam, Tippoo, who had in vain 
endeavored to arrest their progress, resolved to hazard a general 
battle. The English were victorious, but the country around 
having been laid waste and all means of support destroyed or 
removed, they were soon in so great want of provisions and 
in such a sicldy state, that Cornwallis was compelled to retreat 
to Bangalore, leaving behind him much of his baggage and 
the battering train which he had prepared to besiege Seringapa- 
tam. 

Cornwallis remained at Bangalore for some time, making 
arrangements again to proceed to Seringapatam. All the re- 
sources of the EngUsh power in all parts of India, were nov/ 
brought into requisition. The Nizam's force of 15,000 cavahy, 
and Purseram Bhow with a yet larger force of Mahrattas had 
arrived, but aU these were so deficient in weapons and disciphne 
that they added but Httle to the strength of the army. When 
the preparations for proceeding to Seringapatam were completed, 
the force under the command of Cornwallis amounted to 30,000. 
If to these the forces of the Nizam and of the Mahrattas are 
added, the invading army will appear to be large. On arriving 
in sight of Seringapatam the army of Tippoo, estimated at 
45,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry, was seen encamped near it. 
Arrangements were made to attack this force in the night. The 
loss of Tippoo was great, and the state of his capital and the 
position of the Enghsh force soon became such that he earnestly 
sued for peace. After some days of negotiation a treaty was 
made in which Tippoo agreed to cede about half of his domin- 
ions, to pay a large sum of money ($16,500,000), and deliver 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 229 

up two of his sons as hostages. The conditions of this treaty 
were fulfilled on the part of the Sultan in due time, and his 
sons returned to him. For several years he was engaged chiefly 
in attending to the internal affairs of his own kingdom, a longer 
period of peace than had been known in the peninsula for a long 
time. 

Li 1798, the Earl of Mornington, subsequently the Marquis 
of Wellesley, became governor-general of India. He was in- 
structed, when appointed to this responsible situation, " not to 
engage if possible in hostilities with any native power, and yet 
he waged deadly war with every one of them." Soon after 
reaching India, he learned that Tippoo had negotiated a treaty 
with the governor of Mauritius, in which it was stipulated that 
a large French force should be sent to India to assist Tippoo in 
regaining his lost dominions. As Tippoo "was deceived by 
a French adventurer who induced him to send an embassy to 
Mauritius, and the governor had no authority to make any 
such treaty, nor power to carry it into effect, the whole affair 
showed the disposition of Tippoo more than any cause of dan- 
ger to the English power in India. But the governor-general 
regarded this conduct as " a public, unqualified, and unambigu- 
ous declaration of war," and his decided opinion was, that " an 
immediate attack should be made upon Tippoo Sultan." It 
was also believed, if not fuUy proved, that Tippoo had endeav- 
ored to excite the Mahrattas and the Nizam against the English, 
and that he had also sent an embassy to Zeman Shah, the ruler 
of Cabul, th-en contemplating an invasion of India. Li these 
circumstances, the governor-general resolved to deprive Tippoo 
of those means and resources which made him so formidable an 
enemy to the English power in India. Some correspondence of 
a peculiar character and with mutually unsatisfactory results, 
was carried on for a while between the governor-general and the 
Sultan. In the mean time a large force under General Harris, 
was prepared at Madras to proceed to Mysore, and there cooper- 
ate with another force from Bombay under General Stuart. The- 
Sultan fuUy aware of the force and plans of his enemies, en- 
deavored first to encounter the army on the way from Bombay, 
and a severe battle was fought in which he claimed the victory, 
though his loss was much greater than that of the Englisli, 

20 



230 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

The main army (the force from Madras) reached Seringapatam 
in April of 1799. For some time the Sultan had been discour- 
aged,* and having been disappointed by several movements of 
the English force, he at last resolved to take refuge in the city 
and defend it to the last extremity. The siege was urged for- 
ward with aU possible vigor, and all attempts at negotiation hav- 
ing failed, the place was attacked on the 4th of May, and the 
English became masters, though not without suffering severe 
loss and committing dreadful carnage of the Mysore troops and 
inhabitants. The Sultan's body was found among the slain, 
and aU his family were made prisoners. The treasures of the 
Sultan, amounting to nearly |5,000,000, became the prize of the 
conquerors. 

With the fall of Seringapatam all resistance ceased, and the 
war closed. The English took possession of the kingdom, gave 
pensions to the members of the royal family, allotted some dis- 
tricts to the Mahrattas and to the Nizam, took the sea-coasts 
and some other districts for themselves, and placed a descendant 
of the original Hindu sovereigns over several internal districts 
under the title of the Raja of Mysore. This descendant was a 
child only 5 years old, and as the EngKsh retained aU the essen- 
tial powers of government in their own hands, he and his party 
had httle but the name and pageantry of rank and dignity. Still 
the change from the state of poverty in which the family had 
lived for some years to the honor conferred upon them, was gi-eat, 
and conciliated the native population to other important changes 
now to be introduced. The war with Tippoo was the last 
great struggle of the English for ascendency in the southern part 
of the peninsula. The remaining native princes had not suf- 
ficient power to make much resistance, if disposed, and they 
generally submitted to such terms as were dictated to them. 

The Nizam became now more than ever fearful of the power 
of the Mahrattas, and a treaty was made between him and the 
governor-general, in w^hich he ceded to the English aU the terri- 
tory which he had lately acquired from the Mysore Idngdom, 

* " He assembled Ms principal officers in council, and closed his address, say- 
ing, ' We have arrived at our last stage, what is your determination ? ' 'To die 
along with you,' was the universal reply. All were deeply afTected, and some 
could not refrain from weeping." 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 231 

yielding $3,000,000 annually, and they in return engaged to 
support a certain specified force in his dominions, and to defend 
him from all aggressions from the Mahrattas or others. This 
subsidiary force the EngKsh were at liberty to use as they might 
have occasion in the event of any war. In such case he also 
bomid himself to assist them with his own troops. 

HISTORY OF BOMBAY TILL 1800. 

In 1662, Charles 11. married the Infanta Catharine of Portu- 
gal, and obtained the island of Bombay as part of her dowry. 
The king of England claimed Salsette as a dependency of Bom- 
bay, but the king of Portugal refused to allow the claims. Li 
1668, Charles ceded Bombay to the East India Company, and 
they soon removed their chief agency on the western coast of 
India from Sm-at to Bombay. The island was easily defended, 
and its excellent harbor made it important as a naval station. 
It was once besieged by the admiral of the Mogul fleet, but the 
island has never been taken by any hostile power since it first 
became an English possession. Salsette and Bassein continued 
in the possession of the Portuguese tiU 1789, when they were 
taken by the Mahrattas, who had possession of the coast oppo- 
site to Bombay for several hundred miles. This native power 
first became prominent in the history of India in the reign of 
Aurungzeb. When the Mogul empire fell into a state of anar- 
chy on the death of this emperor, the Mahrattas, who for some 
years had been struggling for independence, commenced an 
aggressive warfare on all sides, and soon became the most for- 
midable native power in India. For half a century they were 
united in one government under Sevajee, their first prince and 
his descendants. They then separated under different chiefs, 
who divided the original and acquired territories among them. 
Each of these chiefs was independent in the affairs of his own 
territory, and made war and peace with those around him as he 
pleased. But they stUl continued united under one nominal head, 
and though often at war among themselves yet like the Greek 
republics of old, they were ready to join their forces as often as 
there was any occasion for doing so against a common enemy. 

One of these Mahratta chiefs, Conajee Angria, had possession 



232 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of the Concan, the territory between the Ghats and the sea 
south from Bombay, and had nominally the rank of admiral. As 
his situation was unfavorable for carrying on any aggressive war- 
fare on land, he commenced plundering such ships as he could 
seize. He had a fleet of ships built for this purpose, and he 
plundered the vessels of all nations without distinction. These 
ships, if attacked by any force too powerful for them, would run 
into some of the creeks or harbors on the coast, where they were 
protected by his forts. He took several vessels with rich cargoes, 
and became so powerful that in 1754, he took and plundered a 
squadron of 3 Dutch ships, one of 50 guns, one of 36 guns, and 
one of 18 guns. Such depredations could no longer be endured, 
and the government of Bombay resolved to put a stop to them. 
Conajee Angria was at this time at variance with the other Mah- 
ratta powers, and so when Commodore James proceeded to 
blockade his forts by sea, a Mahratta force proceeded from the 
Deckan to besiege them by land, and in this way 2 or 3 of his 
forts were reduced. The next year Admnal Watson and Colonel 
Clive, (afterwards Lord Clive,) having arrived at Bombay, a 
more powerful expedition proceeded against Conajee Angria. 
Admiral Watson took command of the ships, and Colonel Clive 
of the land forces. They succeeded in taking Gheriah, his prin- 
cipal fort, with a large amount of treasure, naval and military 
stores, and other property of various kinds. This property, which 
was of great value, became prize-money and was divided among 
the captors. 

The aggressive warfare carried on by the different Mahratta 
chiefs upon all the native powers not belonging to their con- 
federacy, greatly enlarged their dominions. In 1760, the reve- 
nue paid by the people, was estimated at $45,000,000, though 
it was supposed that not more than $35,000,000 entered the 
treasury so as to be available for any of the purposes of the 
government. Their army, collected at the great and disastrous 
battle of Panniput, consisted of 55,000 cavahy in regular pay, 
15,000 irregular horse, 15,000 infantry, and an efficient body of 
artillery with 200 guns. Their revenue, their army, and their 
military character, made them the first native powxr in India. 

In 1772, Madu Row, the Peishwa and nominal head of the 
Mahratta empke, died without leaving any issue, and he was 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 233 

succeeded by Narayan Row, a younger brother, who was soon 
after assassinated. After his death, two parties contended for the 
succession. Ragoba, Avho was uncle to the late Peishwa, and 
one of the claimants to be the acknowledged head of the Mah- 
ratta empire, made application to the government of Bombay 
for assistance. The Court of Directors had long been anxious 
to obtain the islands of Salsette and Bassein, and had instructed 
their governor in Bombay to obtain them in any lawful and 
proper way. The government of Bombay, now made a treaty 
with Ragoba, who ceded Salsette, Bassein, and some possessions 
of the Mahrattas in Gujerat to the EngUsh, in consideration of 
receiving certain assistance to enable him to obtain the office of 
Peishwa. And having heard that the Portuguese government 
in Goa was preparing to make an effort for recovering these 
islands, the government of Bombay at once took possession of 
them. The governor-general and supreme council in Bengal 
now interfered, and expressing their strong disapprobation of 
the proceedings of the government of Bombay, sent an embassy 
from Calcutta to Poona. And soon after this, despatches from 
the Court of Directors were received by the Bombay govern- 
ment, in which they approved of the treaty made with Ragoba. 
It was finally compromised that the Enghsh should retain Sal- 
sette, and the Mahrattas should have Bassein. 

But this peace was of short duration. Neither the govern- 
ment of Bombay, nor of Calcutta, nor the Court of Directors, 
were satisfied with the terms on which matters had been ad- 
justed. The state of parties among the Mahrattas was contin- 
ually changing, and a man named St. Lubin having arrived at 
Poona in the pretended character of an ambassador from 
France, great anxiety began to be felt by the English, on ac- 
count of supposed French influence among the Mahrattas. 
These circumstances soon led to a renewal of hostilities, and it 
was resolved that a force should proceed from Bengal to Poona, 
there to meet one which was to proceed from Bombay. The force 
from Bombay amounting to about 4,000 men, proceeded into 
the Deckan, and on reacliing Tullagaum, 18 miles from Poona, 
they found an army of 50,000 men to oppose their fm-ther pro- 
gress. Some sldrmishing took place, and the English feeling 
unable to contend with such a force, formed the purpose to 

20* 



234 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

return to Bombay. No sooner had they commenced their 
retreat, than furious attacks were made upon their rear, and 300 
men and 15 English officers were soon killed. They had now 
no resource but negotiation, which resulted in an agreement 
called the Convention of Wurgaum, and they were permitted to 
retm*n quietly to Bombay, thus terminating the most unhappy 
expedition hitherto in the history of British India. 

The army which was proceeding from Bengal into the Dec- 
kan under Gen. Goddard, met with some unexpected difficulties 
and delays, and on hearing that the force which was to proceed 
from Bombay to cooperate with them had returned back. Gen. 
Goddard proceeded into Gujerat. Here he took Ahmedabad 
and several other large places, and surprised and routed the 
united forces of Scindia and Holkar, two Mahratta chiefs. 
He then proceeded to lay siege to Bassein, which surrendered 
before the close of the year. Hostihties having commenced be- 
tween Hyder Ali and the EngUsh in the southern part of India, 
it became important to bring the war with the Mahrattas to a 
close as soon as possible. In these circumstances, General God- 
dard resolved to proceed into the Deckan with his army. He 
marched as far as the Bhore Ghat, about 50 miles east from 
Bombay, but finding greater difficulties and more discouraging 
circumstances than he expected, he retmiied to Bombay, though 
not without suffering considerable loss &om attacks on his rear. 
But in some other parts of the Mahratta country, the English 
were eminently successful. Major Popham, with a force of 
2,400, proceeded from Bengal mto the territory of Scindia, and 
took the fort of Lahar after a severe struggle. He then 
resolved upon the yet more adventurous enterprise of attempting 
to take Gwahor, one of the strongest forts in India. Tliis fort 
is erected on the top of a mountain of rock, and is supposed to 
be inaccessible on aU sides. It had always been regarded in 
wars among the native powers as impregnable, and at this time 
it had a garrison of 1,000 men. Major Popham, after carefully 
inspecting the fort, resolved to make an attempt to seize it by 
escalade. The attempt was made in the night on a part where 
no danger was apprehended. The garrison surrendered with 
but little resistance, and in the morning the English flag "was 
wavinof over the fort. The darina: nature and success of this 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 235 

attack produced a deep impression upon the native mind. It 
was thought best to follow up the success, and accordingly- 
General Carnac proceeded with a yet larger force into the 
dominions of Scindia, where he was joined by Major Popham. 
General Carnac suffered much for want of provisions, and was 
obhged to retire from Seronge, but near Mehidpoor he made an 
attack on the army of Scindia, and dispersed them with gi-eat 
loss of troops and baggage. These victories produced a state 
of feeling favorable to peace on the part of the Mahrattas, and 
the English were also deshous of it, as all then' resources were 
required for the war with Hyder Ali. After much negotiation 
with the different Mahratta chiefs, a general peace with aU the 
confederacy was made, which is generally known in Indian 
history as the treaty of Salbye. By this treaty, E-agoba re- 
nounced aU claim to the dignity of Peishwa ; he was to receive 
from the Mahratta government a fixed sum annually for his 
support, and was allowed to choose his own place of residence. 

HISTORY OF INDIA FROM 1800-1850. 

At the commencement of the present century, the British 
power had become paramount in India. In the southern part 
of the penmsula were several native princes more or less inde- 
pendent, but no one of them, and no combination that could be 
formed among them, would be equal in power and resources to 
the English government in Madras. In the Deckan, and Central 
India, were two of the largest remaining native powers, namely, 
the Nizam, and the Mahrattas. And the former of these, whose 
capital was Hyderabad, had entered into a treaty with the 
EngUsh, by which he ceded to them territory (aU he had ob- 
tained in the partition of the kingdom of Mysore), yielding 
^3,000,000 annually, and they in retm-n engaged to support a 
large subsidiary force * in his domuiions, and " to defend them 
from every aggression." By the same treaty he had also engaged 
" neither to make war, nor so much as to negotiate by his own 

* Such subsidiary forces consisted partly of Europeans and partly of native 
troops, but all were under the control of European officers, and the whole force 
■was to be under the control of the English government, or of their agents in the 
native government where this force was stationed. 



236 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

authority, but to refer all disputes between himself and other 
States to the English, and be guided by their decision ; also to 
allow the subsidiary force in his service, to be employed by 
them in all their wars, and in such cases to increase the subsid- 
iary force by 6,000 horse, and 9,000 foot from his own army. 
But it was stipulated that " the Nizam was to remain absolute 
in respect to his own family and subjects, and the Enghsh were 
on no pretext to disturb his authority." All the superior 
officers also of his own army were to be English, and were to 
be approved by their Resident or minister at his court. It must 
be obvious that, however oppressive such a government might 
be to its own subjects, it was never liliely to endanger the sta- 
bility of the British power in the country. A part of the Idng- 
dom of Mysore was offered to the Mahrattas upon condition of 
their entering into a similar treaty for a subsidiary force to be 
supported in a similar manner and for similar purposes in their 
territory. But the offer of such a force was not accepted. The 
Peishwa, the nominal head of this confederacy, lived at Poona, 
100 miles from Bombay, and so Poona was generally regarded 
as the capital of the Mahratta empire. But the different chiefs 
had each his own capital. Ragojee Bhonsla had Nagpore, Scin- 
diahad Gwalior, Hollcar had Indore, and Damojee Guickwar had 
Baroda, for their respective capitals. These chiefs were often 
at variance, and sometimes in open war with each other, while 
each of them made war and peace with other powers, and gov- 
erned his own territory and extended his own dominion as he 
pleased. Confederated and yet separated as they were, their 
political importance and influence were less in the general afiairs 
of India than the same population, territory, and revenue would 
have been under one united and consolidated government. 

The titular emperor of Delhi had become a dependant upon 
Scindia, one of the Mahratta chiefs, and he lived in the palace 
and capital of his illustrious ancestors, more lilie a prisoner than 
like an Indian prince. Scindia made all the use of having a 
nominal emperor of Hindustan in his power, which he possibly 
could for his own aggi-andizement. In the central and northern 
parts of India were several States and princes, as the Rajpoots, 
the Jats, the Sikhs, the Scindeans, etc. Of these princes, some 
were in alliance with the English and tributary to them ; some 



HISTOEY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 237 

were tributary to the Mahratta chiefs, and some had preserved 
or acquired their independence. No one of these, Scindia per- 
haps excepted, was looked on as sufficiently powerful to involve 
the country in war, were they so disposed, nor had any one of 
them the means of long resisting the power of the English, 
should they become involved in war with them. 

The city of Surat was the great emporium of foreign com- 
merce in Lidia, when Europeans discovered the passage round 
the Cape of Good Hope. It was the seat of important and 
extensive manufactures, and the capital of a populous, com- 
mercial, and manufacturing country. It was easy of com- 
munication with Arabia and Persia, and shared largely in the 
trade of India with Europe and the western countries of Asia 
through the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The population 
was estimated in 1790 at 800,000, but probably this estimate 
was too large. It was also the port from which Mohammedans 
generally embarked on their pilgrimage to Mecca, and so it was 
regarded on this account as a place of great importance. One 
of the earliest and largest trading factories of the East India 
Company was established in this city, and several agreements 
and treaties, varying according to circumstances and exigencies, 
had been made with the Nabob. This prince was originally a 
deputy of the emperor of Delhi, but the office had become hered- 
itary, and its powers were often exercised, in the distracted 
state of the empire, with little reference or respect to the emper- 
or's wishes. The relations between the English and the Nabob 
had long been in an unsatisfactory state. Frequent attempts 
had been made to dej&ne and adjust them, but with little suc- 
cess. Early in 1800, the governor-general transmitted to the 
governor of Bombay, the form of an agreement or treaty to be 
carried into effect with the Nabob. This agreement the Nabob 
for some time refused, but at length seeing the English preparing 
to carry it into effect by force, he signed it, and thus " resigned 
his government, civil and military, with all its emoluments, 
.powers, and privileges, to the East India Company, and the 
Company agreed to pay to the Nabob and his heirs one lack 
of rupees ( $50,000) annually, etc." By this transaction, which 
is styled in the History of British India, " the Nabob of Surat 
deposed," Surat was added to the English possessions^ 



238 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Mention has often been made of the Eaja of Tanjore in the 
Carnatic. This was one of the Hindu States, which though 
tributary to the Nabob of the Carnatic, and a party in some of 
the treaties between this prince and the English, yet preserved 
much of its independence under its Hindu sovereigns. In 1786, 
Toolajee, the Raja of Tanjore, died, and was succeeded by his 
son Ameer Sing. This prince, at different times, caused much 
uneasiness and anxiety to the Madras government. Li 1798, 
the claims of another son, Surfojee, were brought forward. The 
English espoused his cause and removed Ameer Sing from the 
throne. But Surfojee, who was entu-ely dependent on the Eng- 
Ush, instead of succeeding to the power and dignity of Raja, 
signed an agreement by which he resigned all the powers of 
government to the English, and in return was to receive an 
annual pension for the support of Mmself and family. The 
same historian, describing this transaction, styles it, " the Raja 
of Tanjore deposed." 

More than half a century had passed since the first treaty was 
made between the English and the Nabob of the Carnatic. 
During this period, 4 or 5 Nabobs in succession had filled the 
office. Several treaties or agreements, varymg wifh the circum- 
stances and exigencies of the parties, had been made at different 
times. Each party had often complained of the other, but dis- 
satisfaction appears never to have proceeded to open hostihties. 
In pursuing the course of policy towards the native governments 
which the governor-general had adopted, the state of this prince 
and his relations came under consideration. The relations 
between him and the Enghsh had long been in many respects 
very unsatisfactory, and all attempts to remodel and readjust 
them had failed. The territory subject to the Nabob, was badly 
governed, and there appeared no reason to look for any reform 
in his administration. He was incumbered with debts, and 
there appeared to be no reasons for expecting any improvement 
in his finances. The governor-general resolved to effect a trans- 
fer of all the rights and powers of government, civil and mili- 
tary, to the Enghsh, reserving or allowing to the Nabob, what 
might appear to be necessary to support him and his family in 
becoming style and dignity. Omdut ul Omrah, who was 
then Nabob, was sick, and not expected long to survive ; so it 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN P:p]RIOD. 239 

was thought expedient to defer the "dethronement" till after his 
decease. He died in July, 1801. As his son, Ali Hoosun, who 
was appointed in the will of the late Nabob to succeed him, re- 
fused to sign the treaty presciibed to him by the governor-gen- 
eral, Azeem ul Dowla, a nephew of the late Nabob was selected, 
and on his promising to sign the treaty which had been pre- 
pared, he was acknowledged by the English to be the Nabob, 
and installed into the office in the usual manner. From this 
time this office became a mere pageant, as the Nabob, by the 
treaty then signed, defivered over all the powers of government 
in perpetuity to the English, and totally and forever renounced 
them for himself and his family. This treaty between him and 
the Engfish was just what the latter wished it to be. The allow- 
ance or pensions given to him and his family from the revenues 
of the territories he thus ceded away, were liberal, and have 
been continued. Ali Hoosun and his friends protested against 
these proceedings, and transmitted a memorial concerning them 
to ]E^igland, but they obtained no redress. The historian be- 
fore referred to, describes these proceedings under the title of 
" the Nabob of Arcot deposed." 

No native power had given the English more trouble than 
their ally, the Nabob of Oude. Treaties and agreements with 
him had been made and changed, till the parties could not agree 
what had been annulled and superseded, and what continued to 
be stiU in force, while aU were dissatisfied with the state of mS,t- 
ters as they were. Negotiations were commenced and attempts 
at definition and explanation were made, and all these were car- 
ried on for a long time in the hope of bringing the relations be- 
tween the Engfish and the Nabob into a more satisfactory state. 
But in these negotiations fittle progress was made, and there 
was but little prospect of any mutually satisfactory result. At 
length the governor-general proposed or more properly dictated a 
treaty, and prepared at once to enforce it with such a power that 
any efiectual resistance on the part of the Nabob was impossible, 
and any further delay or reluctance would be unavailing. So 
this treaty was signed by the Nabob, and by it he ceded to the 
Engfish more than half his territory, relinquishing in then- favor 
aU right and control over it. The revenue of this ceded territory 
was nearly $7,000,000 annually. The Nabob also engaged to 



240 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

govern his remaining territory in such a manner, or according to 
such regulations and counsels and to produce such results, as 
would give the English discretionary authority or permission to 
interfere in his administration at any time they might thmk it 
expedient to do so. 

Nearly west from Oude was the province of Furruckabad. 
The government of this province was at this time in the hands 
of a regent, the Nabob having died some time before, and his 
son and heir being yet a minor, the affairs of this province had 
become somewhat compHcated with the State of Oude, and there 
had also for some years been a treaty of alliance with the Eng- 
lish. These matters in connection with the affairs of Oude, and 
in carrying out the policy of the governor-general, now came 
under consideration, and as the young Nabob was just becoming 
of age it was a favorable time for introducing any change. To 
the governor-general it appeared to be expedient that the prov- 
ince of Furruckabad, should also be added to the English pos- 
sessions, and so the young Nabob, instead of succeeding to the 
office and dignity of his ancestors, was required to sign a treaty 
by which he ceded all his territory with all his rights and control 
over it to the English, only to receive jn return from them out 
its revenues a pension for the support of himself and family. 

"When the kingdom of Mysore was to be disposed of, after 
the fall of Seringapatam and the death of Tippoo, several dis- 
tricts were offered to the Mahrattas, upon condition that they 
would then cede these to the Enghsh in return for the support 
of a subsidiary force to be stationed at some place in the Mah- 
ratta territory, in a manner similar to the arrangement then 
made with the Nizam. Such subsidiary forces consisted partly 
of European and partly of native troops. But all the officers 
were European, and the force was to be under the control of the 
English government, or their agents. This offer the Mahrattas 
then refused. But the agent of the English at the court in 
Poona, was instructed to intimate to the Peishwa and the Mah- 
ratta chiefs, that such an arrangement would at any time be 
taken into consideration, if they should wish for it. The Mah- 
rattas were generally engaged in warfare : sometimes they were 
united against a common enemy, sometimes each chief was 
carrying on war to enlarge his own dominions, and sometimes 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 241 

they were fighting among themselves. In 1803, some dissen- 
sions having occurred between Scindia and Holkar, a severe bat- 
tle was fought near Indore, in which the latter was defeated 
with great slaughter, loss of guns, etc. He collected his scat- 
tered forces and proceeded with aU possible despatch to Poona. 
Here Scindia and the Peishwa united their forces to oppose 
him, but they were both defeated " in one of the most obstinate 
battles recorded in the annals of Indian warfare." When the 
Peishwa saw that the war between Scindia and Holkar was 
likely to be transferred to Poona, he intimated his wish to the 
Enghsh agent for some arrangement for obtaining the aid of a 
subsidiary force for his protection. The approaching difficulties 
and dangers made him yet more anxious, and the day after the 
battle, in accordance with an arrangement made with the English 
agent, he proceeded to Severndroog, a fort in the Concan south 
from Bombay on the sea-shore, from which he went in a vessel 
provided for him to Bassein. The English agent proceeded 
from Poona to that place, and the celebrated treaty of Bassein 
was made there. By this treaty the Peishwa ceded to the Eng- 
lish a territory yielding |1,250,000 annually, and they agreed U 
support a subsidiary force of 6,000 men in his dominion;' 
They also engaged to reestablish him in his full rights as the 
acknowledged head of the Mahratta confederacy. This treaty 
declared the friends and enemies of either of the contracting 
parties to be the friends and enemies of both, and it provided 
for the joint exertions of both to defend the rights or redress the 
wrongs of either, or of their respective dependants and allies. 
The document is of great length, containing 19 different arti- 
cles. 

This treaty laid the foundation for what has been called " the 
greatest war which England ever waged in India, and which 
was destined completely to establish her supremacy over that 
country." 

It was the wish of Scindia and Holkar each to obtain posses- 
sion of the person of the Peishwa, and then use his name and 
authority to increase his power and influence. The Peishwa 
was aware of their desire, and might have thrown himself upon 
either of them. But he knew he should be only a prisoner of 
State, to be used by the party for their own advantage. And so 

21 



242 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

he chose rather to enter into treaty with the English, who en- 
gaged to restore him to be again the head of the Mahratta con- 
federacy. For some time it appeared quite uncertain what 
course the Mahratta chiefs would pursue on hearing of the 
treaty of alliance between the Enghsh and the Peishwa. Scin- 
dia retreated after the battle at Poona towards his own domin- 
ions, and encamped near Burhanpoor. HoUtar remained at 
Poona and endeavored to invest another member of the Peish- 
wa's family with the office and dignity of Peishwa. The gover- 
nor-general made arrangements to carry on the war with vigor, 
if the chiefs separately, o-r in combination, should resist the res- 
toration of the Peishwa, or any other provisions of the treaty. 

In accordance with this intention. Sir Arthur WeUesley, (who 
was brother to the governor-general, and subsequently became 
the Duke of Wellington,) was ordered to take the command of a 
large force which had assembled at Hurryghur, and to proceed 
towards Poona. Col. Stevenson was ordered to proceed from 
Hyderabad wdth the subsidiary force at that place and the 
Nizam's contingent force, and to join Sir A. WeUesley. The 
two forces met at Akloos, and when united constituted an army 
of 27,000 men. Lord Lake was commanded to proceed with a 
large force from Bengal and invade the northern parts of the 
dominions of Scindia. A force was to proceed from Madras, 
and to invade the southern parts of the dominions of Eagojee 
Bhonsla, the Mahratta chief or E,aja of Berar. And a force was 
to be sent from Bombay to invade the territory of the Mahrattas 
in Gujerat. It was expected that these simultaneous invasions 
of the territories of the different chiefs would prevent any con- 
tinued cooperation or union of their forces. 

It was necessary that Sir. A. WeUesley should proceed to 
Poona to prepare the way for the restoration of the Peishwa. 
As he approached the city, Holkar with his force withdrew, and 
no resistance was made to his taking possession of the place. 
The Peishwa, who had remained at Bassein, was then escorted 
to Poona by a force of 4,000 Bombay troops under Col. Murray, 
and he was duly instaUed in office again. Efforts were now 
made to induce the Mahratta chiefs to acquiesce in this new 
state of matters, and also to become reconcUed with each other. 
With this view several months were spent in fruitless negotia- 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 243 

tion, when it became evident that some of them were deter- 
mined to try the issues of war. Scindia and Ragojee Bhonsla 
(often called the Raja of Berar or Nagpore), united their forces 
for this purpose, and proceeded, into the territory of the Nizam. 
Sir A. Wellesley then marched from Poona to meet them. On 
his way he took possession of the town and fort of Ahmednug- 
gur, which had been in the possession of Scindia. A plan was 
concerted between Sir A. WeUesley and Col. Stevenson to at- 
tack the army of Scindia and Ragojee Bhonsla on the 24th of 
September, at Bokerdun, where they were supposed to be en- 
camped. But on the 23d, Sir A. Wellesley unexpectedly found 
them near Assaye. Their united army consisted of 38,000 cav- 
alry, 18,000 infantry, and 100 guns. The battle here fought 
is one of the most remarkable in the history of British India. 
The English were victorious, but the loss was very heavy, " the 
kiUed and wounded amounting to more than one third part of 
the force engaged." The influence of this victory on aU parties 
was great. The force under the command of Col. Stevenson 
arrived the day after the battle and pursued the retreating 
enemy. In the course of a few weeks the battle of Argaum 
was fought, in which Scindia was again defeated, and the forts 
of Asseerghur and Gawulghur were taken. In the mean time 
the war was carried on vigorously in other parts of the Mahratta 
territories. Lord Lake proceeding from Bengal with a large 
force, invaded the northern parts of Scindia's dominions. The 
folloMdng graphic account of his operations in this expedition is 
from Murray's History of British India : — 

" Meantime, the central regions of Hindustan were the thea- 
tre of events equally memorable. Scindia's force there consisted 
almost exclusively of the large corps formed on the European 
model by De Boigne, who having returned to France, was suc- 
ceeded by Perron. These troops were considered very formida- 
ble, consisting' of 16,000 or 17,000 regular infantry, from 15,000 
to 20,000 cavalry, a large body of irregulars, and a weU ap- 
pointed train of artillery. Lord Lake having been informed of 
the failure of the negotiation with their master, moved fi:om 
Cawnpore on the 17th of August, 1803 ; on the 28th he passed 
the frontier, and the next day he found the whole of Perron's 
horse in a strong position near Coel, a town in the Doab. He 



244 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

presently led his troops to the attack ; when the native army, 
deemed so efficient and well equipped after a short random fire, 
retreated with such rapidity that the Enghsh could not overtake 
them. The next object was the fort of AUighur, the main de- 
pot of the enemy. It was a very strong place, surrounded with 
a good glacis, and a broad and deep ditch always filled with 
water. It would have been unassailable, had the entrance been 
confined to a draw-bridge ; but a terrace had been imprudently 
formed for that purpose, over which Lord Lake concluded his 
troops might force their passage. Colonel Monson, who had led 
the storming party, soon penetrated across the mound and over 
the breastwork, but the wall was so sti'ongly guarded by spear- 
men that he could not attempt an escalade. A twelve pounder 
was brought forward to burst open the gate, but before it could 
be pointed the soldiers remained exposed to a most galling fire, 
which severely wounded and disabled their leader himself. 
Major McLeod succeeded to the command, and after the first 
gate had been forced open, pushed Ms way through a long and 
intricate passage and two successive gateways to a fourth, 
against which, however, the gun was employed without efiect. 
The situation of the assailants would now have been serious, 
had not the Major succeeded in forcing the wicket, and thus 
opening an entrance to his countrymen, who soon became mas- 
ters of the place. 

" It being understood that Perron was discontented with the 
service of Scindia, Lord Lake was authorized to make large 
offers on condition of his coming over to the English and bring- 
ing his troops with him. In fact, a letter was received from him 
on the 7th of September, requesting to be allowed to repair with 
his family, servants, and property in safety to Lucknow, but 
without expressing any disposition to detach his army from 
then- allegiance. His request was readily granted, and he after- 
wards stated his desertion to have been occasioned by the ap- 
pointment of another officer to supersede him in command. 

" After the capture of Alfighur, Lord Lake marched directly 
upon Delhi, the imperial capital, and the residence of him who 
stiU enjoyed the rank and title of Great Mogul. He had ad- 
vanced within view of its waUs, when he discovered the army 
organized under French command, and drawn up in a strong 



HISTOKY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 245 

position to defend its approaches. Though he had only 4,500 
men against 19,000, yet he determined to give battle with- 
out delay. But as the enemy could not without difficulty and 
some loss, have been dislodged from their present ground, he 
used a feigned retreat as a stratagem to draw them from it. 
This delicate manoeuvre was executed by the British troops in 
the most perfect order, and the enemy imagining the flight real, 
quit their intrenchments and eagerly pursued. But no sooner 
were they fully drawn forth on the plain than Lord Lake faced 
about, and in a single charge drove them from the field with loss 
of 3,000 in killed and wounded, as well as their whole train of 
artillery. 

" The British general now entered Delhi without resistance. 
He immediately requested and obtained an audience of the 
emperor, with whom a secret communication had previously 
been opened. He beheld this unfortunate descendant of a long 
line of illustrious princes ' seated under a small tattered canopy, 
the remnant of his former state, his person emaciated by indi- 
gence and infirmities, and his countenance disfigured with the 
loss of his eyes and marked with extreme old age and settled 
melancholy.' 

" The conquerors now marched upon Agra the rival capital, 
which stni possessed the advantage of being defended by a 
strong fort, and occupied by a large body of troops. Anarchy, 
however, prevailed in the garrison, and the officers being chiefly 
of English extraction had become objects of suspicion and 
thrown into confinement. At the same time 7 battalions of 
Scindia's army having been denied admittance lest they should 
claim a share of the riches it contained, still kept their post in 
the city and the principal mosque. It was considered necessary 
to begin by dislodging them, which was effected, though not 
without an obstinate resistance, and the soldiers to the amount 
of 2,500 immediately transferred their services to the victors. 
The Maln^atta leaders meanwhile resolved to propose a treaty 
of surrender, but as the time for its ratification approached they 
suddenly recommenced firing. The trenches were forthwith 
opened, and a breach being effected on the 17th of October, 1803, 
the enemy capitulated the same evening, stipulating only for the 
safety of their persons and their private property. The treasure 

21* 



246 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

found there, amounting to no less than X 280,000 ($1,400,000), 
was divided among the troops as prize-money. 

" There remained still in the field a corps composed of troops 
detached from the Deckan, reinforced by fugitives from the dif- 
ferent armies. Lord Lake hastened in pursuit of this force, and 
considering it only as a collection of runaways, deserted by their 
officers, little apprehended that he was about to encounter the 
most obstinate resistance he had sustained during the whole 
campaign. This body, consisting of 9,000 foot, 5,000 horse, and 
a numerous ti-ain of artillery, were rapidly retreating, when on 
the 1st of November he overtook them with his cavahy alone, 
and determined by an immediate attack to prevent their escape. 
The enemy, however, having their motions concealed by a cloud 
of dust, speedily threw themselves into an advantageous posi- 
tion, which they strengthened by cutting the embankment of a 
reservoir in front. The dragoons were led on and had gained 
some advantages, when they suffered so severely from the fire 
of a number of well-served guns, that it was judged necessary 
to withdraw them and wait till the infantry could come up. 
That force accordingly advanced, but the 76th regiment and a 
few companies of sepoys having arrived earher than the others, 
were exposed to so destructive a fire that the general deemed it 
the wisest as well as safest plan to lead singly to the charge, 
'this handful of heroes.' They accordingly canied all before 
them though v/ith severe loss, and when the Mahratta cavaky 
attempted to break their thinned ranks, the British horse trium- 
phantly repelled the charge. The remainder of the foot soon 
appeared, and after a desperate stand the enemy for the most 
part were either destroyed or made prisoners. In short by this 
brilliant success the entire army, formed and disciplined for 
Scindia by French officers, and considered the finest possessed 
by any native power, was completely annihilated." * 

In addition to these briUiant achievements on the part of the 
English, the force despatched from Bombay into the Mahratta 
territories in Gujerat, took Broach and some other places ; the 
force from Madras invaded the territory of Eagojee Bhonsla 
and took possession of Cuttack, and another force under 
Colonel Powell were not less successful in Bundelcund. Thus 

* Murray's History of British India, p. 531-534. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 247 

attacked on every side and defeated in every engagement, their 
armies dispersed and their forts taken, the Mahratta chiefs had 
recourse to negotiation. Ragojee Bhonsla, Raja of Nagpore, 
withdrew from Scindia and made a separate peace. In a few 
weeks a treaty was also made with Scindia. Both princes made 
large cessions to the Enghsh, by which as well as by the severe 
defeats they had suffered, their power was much crippled and 
their resources reduced. This war brought into the field large 
forces on both sides. The force in the employment of the East 
India Company, and under the command of British officers in 
this war exceeded 50,000, while the forces opposed to them were 
much more numerous. 

Holkar at one time appeared inclined to join the other chiefs 
in this war, but the success of the Enghsh in the battles of As- 
saye and Argaum induced him to preserve neutral ground. 
When peace had been made with Scindia and the Raja of Nag- 
pore, it became necessary to adjust the unsettled state of mat- 
ters with Holkar. Negotiations were commenced, but learning 
that he could not make peace on any terms consistent with 
some schemes he had formed, he resolved to engage in hostilities 
with the English. His army had been much increased by mili- 
tary adventurers and deserters, and now amounted to 75,000 
men, who were supported and kept together in a great measure 
by levying contributions and plunder obtained in predatory 
excm-sions. When Lord Lake proceeded to attack him he re- 
treated in great haste and confusion. Soon afterwards, he made 
an attack upon General Monson, whose retreat, losses, misfor- 
tunes, and sufferings form one of the most painful chapters in 
the history of modern warfare in India. This war was carried 
on for some time with varying success. The Enghsh forces 
took possession of Indore, Holkar's capital, and of nearly all his 
dominions, but he continued to support his large army by plun- 
dering and levying contributions wherever any thing could be 
obtained. The neighboring princes sometimes encouraged and 
assisted him, and they sometimes opposed him. He had become 
reckless of all faith, character, and consequences, and there ap- 
peared to be no way of bringing the war to a close, but for the 
Enghsh to appropriate to themselves or distribute among other 
princes aU his territories, and utterly disperse his army and anni- 
hilate his mihtary power. 



248 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

While the war was carried on in this manner, other important 
events occmTed. The governor-general, previous to the com- 
mencement of the war with Holkar, had intimated to the Court 
of Directors his intention to resign the government and return 
to Em-ope, as soon as the war with Scindia and Ragojee Bhon- 
sla could be brought to a close. His course in India had been 
brilhant and successful, but it had produced much dissatisfaction 
in England. His plans for enlarging the Enghsh possessions 
and consoKdating their power in India, had been carried into 
effect with much ability and success, but the Ministry and the 
Court of Directors could not see sufficient reason for aU these 
wars, while they were alarmed at the enormous expenditure in- 
curred in carrying them on. They were decided in the opinion 
that a pacific course of poHcy should be pursued, and they fixed 
on the Marquis CornwaUis (the same who had formerly been 
the governor-general) to govern India according to their views. 
He arrived at Calcutta in July, 1805, and at once assumed the 
government. He was instructed to pursue a different course of 
pohcy from his predecessor, and to procure peace on almost any 
terms. He remained a few weeks in Calcutta, and then left for 
the upper provinces, where urgent and important matters re- 
quired his personal attention and examination. On his way 
he became iU and on reaching Ghazepore he died on the 5th of 
October. Previous to leaving Calcutta he had commenced 
negotiations with Holkar to bring the war to a close. He also 
declared that his course of poHcy would be to secure and to pre- 
serve peace as far as possible with aU the native powers, and 
leave them to adjust their quarrels and carry on their wars 
among themselves.* 

* " The vast scheme of conquest and subsidiary alliance by ■which Marquis 
Wellesley had studied to place this great eastern empire under British control, 
had excited in England a very deep sensation. The public were to a certain 
degree dazzled with its splendid success ; yet a numerous body of politicians 
exclaimed that this course was contrary to all true principles of policy — that it 
formed an interminable principle of war — that the East India Company In seat- 
ing themselves upon the throne of the Mogul, and endeavoring to effect the con- 
quest of all Hindustan, had entirely relinquished the basis on which they had 
uniformly professed to act. The contest with Holkar breaking out with so for- 
midable an aspect after all the others had closed, gave rise to painful feelings as 
to the endless duration of Indian hostility. The Directors of the Company, 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 249 

By the death of Marquis Cornwallis Sir George Barlow, the 
senior member of the supreme council, became governor-general. 
He pursued the measures which had been commenced by his 
predecessor. A new treaty was made with Scindia, who had 
become much dissatisfied with some parts of the last treaty, or 
rather with the manner in which those parts had been interpreted 
and the matters referred to in them had been carried into effect. 
As Holkar refused to consider any reasonable terms of peace, 
and continued his reckless com'se of war and plunder, no way 
or expedient remained but to deprive him of his power. For 
this purpose Lord Lake pursued him from place to place, depriv- 
ing him of his plunder and not allowing him time to levy con- 
tributions, and dispersing his followers till at length he was 
reduced to such straits that he sent his agents with an applica- 
tion for peace to the English camp. A treaty was soon made 
and signed on terms far more favorable to Holkar than he ex- 
pected, knowing as he did how his conduct had been regarded 
by the former governor-general, and what purposes were at one 
time formed concerning him and his possessions. 

In 1806, a mutiny took place in the army at Nellore near 
Madras, which caused great anxiety for a while in India and in 
England. The military force of the East India Company con- 
sists partly of Europeans and partly of natives; the former are 
called soldiers, and the latter are commonly called sepoys, the 
word in the native language for soldier. The European por- 
tion of the army has seldom exceeded one fourth, and often not 
more than one sixth or one eighth part of it. The sepoys are 
voluntarily enlisted, formed into regiments, and disciplined and 
commanded by Enghsh officers. There had been no interfer- 
ence with their superstitious prejudices or national customs. In 

strongly influenced Ly public opinion, and struck by tbe enormous expenditure 
in which the campaign had already involved them, determined to change entirely 
the system on which their affairs were conducted. Accordingly In the place of 
the Marquis Wellesley, who, with or without reason, had acquired the reputation 
of a war-governor, they substituted the Marquis Cornwallis. His instructions 
were to proceed on principles every way opposite to those of his predecessor, 
— to conclude peace almost at any price, — to form a defensive line beyond 
which English interference was not to extend, and to allow the native powers to 
treat and to fight with each other as if situated at the extremity of the globe." — 
Murray's History of British India, p. 543. 



250 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

1806, some change was made in their cap or turban, which at 
first excited some disaffection and resulted in a few cases of 
military discipline at NeUore, near Madras. The excitement 
apparently soon subsided and no further trouble was appre- 
hended, when the native force suddenly attacked the Euro- 
peans, consisting of their officers and 2 companies of soldiers. 
The attack was unexpected and was made in the night. All 
the Europeans, consisting of 14 officers and 100 soldiers, were 
massacred. The insurgents then took possession of the fort 
and town, and prepared to defend them. In a few hours this 
meeting and massacre became known at Arcot. The force 
stationed at this place proceeded as soon as possible to Nellore. 
The insurgents defended themselves with great obstinacy ; 350 
of them were killed and 500 were taken prisoners before the 
mutiny was suppressed and order restored. 

This mutiny produced a great sensation through aU India, 
especially as there were indications of disaffection at Hyder- 
abad, Bangalore, and several other places. Alarming and un- 
founded rumors and reports of intended mutinies and massacres 
were circulated among the Europeans, and endeavors were ap- 
parently made to excite prejudice and apprehension among the 
native population in respect to some intentions of the English 
government, and what they were preparing to do with the peo- 
ple of the country.* It was a time of intense anxiety, and led 
to a careful inquiry into the state, circumstances, feelings, etc. 
of the native troops. There were no more mutinies ; the excite- 
ment gradually subsided, and general confidence was restored. 
What punishment should be inflicted on the insurgents, and 
what should be done in respect to the innovation which had oc- 
casioned this mutiny, were grave questions. Differences of 
opinion on these matters and proceedings growing out of thern, 
led to the recall and dismission of Lord WiUiam Bentinck, then 
governor of Madras, and of Sir John Cradock, the commander- 
in-chief. Ultimately a few of the most guilty suffered death, 

* " At Hyderabad it was currently reported that the Europeans were about to 
make a human sacrifice in the person of a native, that 100 bodies without heads 
were lying along the banks of Moose river ; that the Europeans had built a 
church which it required 100 heads to sanctify, and that they designed to massa- 
cre all the natives except those who should put the sign of the cross on the 
doors of their dwellings." 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN" PERIOD. 251 

but the greater part of the insurgents escaped with but little 
punishment. 

Sir George Barlow was succeeded in the office of governor- 
general by Lord Minto, who arrived in Calcutta, July, 1807. 
The pacific course of policy commenced by Marquis Cornwal- 
Us, was pursued for several years, and the English were not 
involved in war with any of the large native powers. Among 
the remaining petty princes were always some of a restless and 
intriguing spirit, and who were reckless and faithless in respect 
to observing the treaties they had formed with the English and 
with each other. Of this Idnd was the Raja of Travancore. 
This prince intrusted the management of his affairs whoUy to 
his dewan or first minister, who was a profligate, deceitful, and 
depraved brahmin. The subsidy, which the Raja was bound by 
his treaty to pay annually to the English, not having been paid 
for 2 or 3 years. Colonel Macaulay, the English agent at the 
Raja's court, made a demand for it. This gave offence to the 
dewan, and he began in various ways to oppose the English 
government. A concerted attack was made on Colonel M. in 
the night, and he narrowly escaped with life. A ship arriving 
at Allepie with a surgeon and 33 soldiers on board, they were 
induced by falsehoods and treachery to go on shore, when they 
were aU seized and barbarously murdered. The Raja then be- 
gan openly to prepare for war, and endeavored to excite the 
Raja of Cochin, and the Zamorin of Calicut to do the same. 
A force was sent from Madras into Travancore, which after 
much harassing warfare and taking several forts, compelled the 
Raja to fulfil his ti-eaty. The dewan being rejected J&om his 
office, and having become obnoxious to all classes of people for 
his atrocious conduct, fled to the temple of Bhagawady and 
committed suicide. 

The Sikhs had been for some time the increasing power in 
the north-west part of India. Runjeet Singh, afterwards so 
celebrated in Indian history, had become their principal chief. 
" This extraordinary person had afforded some ground for appre- 
hension, but a negotiation conducted by Mr. Metcalf,* assisted 
by a mihtary force, ended in a conclusion of a treaty by wliich 

* Subsequently Lord Metcalf, and for some years governor-general of Canada. 



252 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the British government engaged not to interfere with the territo- 
ries or subjects of the Sikh chief north of the Sutlege, he on his 
part binding himself not to maintain within his territories on the 
left bank of that river more troops than might be necessary for 
carrying on the ordinary functions of government, and to abstain 
from encroaching on the rights of the chiefs in that vicinity." 
This transaction shows the extended power of the Enghsh at 
that time in India. They were at war with the Raja of Tra- 
vancore, in the extreme southern part of the peninsula, because 
he had delayed to pay them the annual subsidy stipulated in 
their treaty ^vith liim. And they were making a treaty with the 
sovereign of Lahore concerning matters in the extreme northern 
part of India. Not more than one fourth part of India was 
probably at this time under the dkect control of the Enghsh, yet 
there was not a petty prince between these extreme points, 
nearly 2,000 miles apart, with whom they had not treaties, and 
treaties too, which from their compHcated nature and the defects 
and infirmities of the native character, were hkely to furnish oc- 
casion for interference, and then for war, and a state of yet 
greater dependence or entire subjugation. And the possessions 
of the Enghsh were so situated and scattered that there was no 
place over this great extent of country, which could not easily 
and speedily be reached by a mihtary force. 

Wars between France and England always affected more or 
less the state of pohtical and commercial matters in India. At 
such times the islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, became 
the places of rendezvous for French cruisers, which made prizes 
of the Enghsh sMps engaged in the India and China trade, to 
an immense amount. The losses sustained in this way by the 
Insurance Companies in Bengal alone, amounted in a few years 
to ^15,000,000. These losses at length roused the Enghsh na- 
tion, and a determination was made to take possession of these 
islands. The armament for effecting this was chiefly prepared 
and sent from India. The islands were taken in 1809 and 1810. 
Mauritius still continues to be an Enghsh possession, but Bour- 
bon was united to France in 1814. HoUand having become a 
part of the French empire under Napoleon, her foreign posses- 
sions of course became subject to France. England was now 
engaged in war with France, and it was determined to take 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 253 

these eastern possessions. For this purpose a large armament 
was fitted out in India, and the governor-general accompanied 
it. This expedition was successful in taldng Java, and the 
other possessions in the eastern archipelago, which had formerly- 
belonged to the Dutch. Thus the East India Company not 
only extended their own power over India, but added other for- 
eign possessions to England. The naval force of the Company 
was also vigorously and successfully employed in suppressing 
piracy in the eastern seas. 

Lord Minto, though pacific in his general policy, was yet vig- 
ilant in providing for English interests in India. He made a 
treaty with the Ameers of Scinde, by which those chiefs bound 
themselves not to permit any Frenchman to reside in their terri- 
tories. He sent an ambassador to Cabul, who made a treaty 
with the Afghan sovereign, who engaged not to permit any 
French or Persian force to pass through his dominions to India, 
and not to allow any Frenchman to reside in his territory. He 
also sent an ambassador to Persia, and a treaty was made by 
which the king of Persia engaged to resist the passage of any 
European force through his dominions towards India, and the 
English in return engaged to assist Persia, if invaded from 
Europe. In consequence of this treaty, the French political 
agents then in Persia, were compelled to quit the country, and 
the French influence in Persia was checked, and for a while 
nearly destroyed. Such transactions show that whatever might 
be said or thought of the East India Company in Europe and 
in America, yet that in the southern countries of Asia, they had 
become an acknowledged nation, and that their power and influ- 
ence were not inferior to the greatest monarchs known in the 
history of those countries. 

In 1813, Lord Minto resigned the office of governor-general 
of India, which he had held for 6 years, and returned to Eng- 
land. He survived his arrival only a few weeks. In the same 
year the renewal of the East India Company's charter, which 
was soon to expire, came under the consideration of ParKament, 
and occupied their attention for several months. The result 
was that the charter, with some important changes, was renewed 
for 20 years. Among these changes were the following : — The 
Company had hitherto enjoyed a monopoly of all the trade be- 



254 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

tween England and all places east of the Cape of Good Hope. 
The trade between England and India was now to be open for 
all, but the trade with China was to continue to be a monopoly 
of the Company. An ecclesiastical establishment, consisting of 
a bishop and 3 archdeacons, was created to superintend the 
chaplains employed in India. Missionary operations and aU 
proper means for the conversion of the native population to 
Christianity, were also to be tolerated. 

The Earl of Moira, generally known by his subsequent title 
of the Marquis of Hastings, became governor-general of India 
in 1814. He found that some difficulties with the Nepaul gov- 
ernment, which commenced in the time of his predecessors, stiU 
remained unsettled, and required his im.mediate attention. 
Commissioners on the part of both governments were ap- 
pointed to examine the matters in dispute, but they made no 
progress towards any final adjustment, and both parties became 
more dissatisfied. The Nepaulese at length refused aU further 
negotiation, and invaded the territory belonging to the Enghsh, 
plundering the villages, and murdering many of the inhabitants. 
War having now become inevitable, the governor-general re- 
solved to prosecute it with vigor, and with the view of bringing 
it to a conclusion as soon as possible, arrangements were made 
to invade Nepaul simultaneously in four different places, and 
30,000 men took the field. But the war was commenced with- 
out due preparation, and it proved to be more harassing than 
any war in which the English had been engaged in India. 
The officers found it impossible to obtain correct information 
concerning the country of Nepaul. They were deceived by 
those who pretended to inform them, and their ignorance and 
mistakes on this account were the cause of frequent embarrass- 
ments and disasters. The seasons were very inclement, and the 
troops suffered much from sickness and for want of provisions. 
The country was everywhere unfavorable for military opera- 
tions, especially for transporting guns and military stores, while 
the points of attack were so far apart that they could not cooper- 
ate or assist each other. The Goorkas were found to be a brave, 
as weU as treacherous people, and they fought with unexpected 
obstinacy. The war continued for nearly 2 years, and it makes 
a painful chapter in the history of British warfare in India. But 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 255 

the resources of the English were every way so much greater 
than their enemies, that the latter became gradually reduced, 
and a treaty of peace was negotiated. This war and the treaty 
by which it was concluded, be^came the subject of much discus- 
sion and censure in India and in England.* 

Wars among the native princes and powers in India, have 
been generally to a great extent supported by exactions and 
plunder. Whatever the officer, or the sepoy, or the camp- 
follower wanted, if he could find it among the people of the 
country, he at once appropriated it to his own use. Wars were 
sometimes commenced and carried on for this purpose. When 
this was the object, some order and system were generally ob- 
served. The prince or commander would make the exactions 
from princes or commanders like himself, and then leave those 
under him to oppress and plunder as they pleased. Or the lead- 
ers would require a certain proportion of the exaction and plun- 
der to be given to them, and leave the rest to be distributed 
among their followers according to some rules. No nation in 
India was ever more imbued with this spirit of war, or carried on 
such wars to a greater extent than the Mahrattas. When the 
treaties made with Scindia, Holkar, and the other Mahratta 
chiefs, compelled them to cease from their wars and to reduce 
their armies, great numbers of people who had been accustomed 
to this kind of life and to find their support in this way, were 
thrown out of employment. Many such persons associated 
themselves under leaders to resume their former habits. They 
then fixed their residence in the dominions of some native 
prince, perhaps they obtained from him a cession or grant of 
some district, and made their predatory excursions into places 
beyond his territory. Many such marauders lived in the domin- 
ions of Scindia and Holkar, and were protected by them. Ke- 
monstrances were made by the governor-general to those 
princes, but no .regard was paid to them. Indeed, there were 
strong reasons for beheving that these princes encouraged such 
associations, if not sharing in their plunder, yet granting them 
protection upon condition that they did not commit any outrage 
in their dominions. They probably thought that in the event of 

* Thornton's History of Britisli India, vol. 4, pages 251-346. 



256 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

war, such leaders and their followers would become useful aux- 
iliaries. These robbers always made their predatory excursions 
on horses, and they were called Pindarrees.* The depredations 
committed by them soon became so great that the governor- 
general saw it was necessary to suppress them. 

The Mahratta chiefs so long accustomed to war and its con- 
sequent excitement and changes, were becoming impatient of 
the restraints imposed upon them by their late treaties mth 
the governor-general, and Bajee Eow Peishwa, who owed his res- 
toration to be the nominal head of the Mahratta confederacy 
entirely to the interposition and power of the English, began a 
course of intrigue and treachery, which showed that he had no 
regard to the treaty he had made, while he continued to carry 
on his duphcity, though solemnly denying it in a manner and- 
to an extent which showed that no confidence could be placed 
in his veracity. In these circumstances it became necessary to 
have further means for enforcing the treaty. So a large addi- 
tion was made to the subsidiary force in the dominions of the 
Peishwa, and he was required to cede territory sufficient for its 
support, to the English. This subsidiary force furnished the 
garrisons for several of the best forts in his dominions. This 

* I have often heard people in India describe the appearance of the Pindar- 
rees, and what they suffered, and saw others suffer from them. The follomng, I 
have no doubt, is a true account of them : — " The Pindarrees were nothing 
more than robbers, elevated by their number into armies, and their boast was, 
not that they were able to encounter disciplined troops, but that they could 
elude them. If overtaken or surprised, the point of honor was who should 
flee the most swiftly. No barrier arrested them. They peneti'ated the closest 
chain of military posts, finding a way even between the divisions of an army 
drawn up to oppose them. They desolated countries, going out and returning 
home by different routes. Their aim was, not to take permanent possession of 
a district, but to sweep away aU that was in it. Obliged to pass with a celeiity 
almost preternatural, and to employ expeditious modes of exacting treasure, they 
inflicted the most merciless torments to compel owners to yield up their con- 
cealed hoards. Redhot irons were applied to the soles of the feet, oil was thrown 
on the clothes and inflamed, the head was tied into a bag filled with hot ashes, 
pepper, etc., which was then shaken. Women were subjected to yet worse 
treatment, and often died from abuse in the hands of their captors. The inter- 
vals of time between these expeditions for plunder, were spent in idleness, 
gambling, drunkenness, and debauchery." The climate in a large part of India 
is so warm that snow is unknown, and frost seldom if ever seen. Such a 
country is favorable for people of habits and pursuits like the Pindarrees. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 257 

subsidiary force and the forts, as usual in such cases, were under 
the control of the Enghsh agent at the Peishwa's court in 
Poona. This new arrangement or treaty, though signed by the 
Peishwa, yet only made him more impatient of the restraints 
imposed by it, and more reluctant to observe its conditions. It 
was becoming evident that this impatience with his circum- 
stances and the intrigues which in violation of the express con- 
ditions of the treaty he was carrying on with the other Mahratta 
chiefs, would erelong result in open war. 

In the mean time the Marquis of Hastings, at this time gov- 
ernor-general, resolved to suppress the Pindarrees, who had 
become the terror of aU central India. These mounted free- 
booters were associated under different chiefs, some of whom 
had 200 or 300, and others had 8,000, or 10,000 foUowers, and if 
united they would amount to 35,000, all mounted and armed. 
Their refuge and residence were chiefly in the dominions of 
Scindia and Holkar, who not only refused to use any means to 
suppress or expel them, but secretly encouraged and protected 
them in the hope of their aid in the event of a war with the 
English, which appeared to be approaching. For the purpose 
of breaking up and dispersing these hordes, it was resolved to 
invade the territories they occupied on four different sides at the 
same time, and 34,000 troops were so employed. The policy 
of the Pindarrees was never to fight, but always to flee and 
avoid their enemies, plundering and ravaging at the same time 
wherever they went. War with such an enemy was expensive, 
harassing, and discouraging. The Pindarrees were dispersed in 
smaller companies more widely than ever, so that the country 
was not relieved from their ravages, nor was there any prospect 
of peace. 

In these circumstances some more efficient measures were 
evidently required to obtain any peace for the country, or any 
security of life and property for the inhabitants. It was appar- 
ent also that these measures must be formed and undertaken in 
view of the probabiKty of a general war with aU the Mahratta 
people. The Marquis of Hastings had much experience in mil- 
itary matters, and prepared the plan of a campaign whose 
avowed object was the suppression of the Pindarrees, but which 
also provided for a possible, and in his view probable, war with 

22* 



258 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

all the Mahratta powers. His plan was comprehensive, and the 
force employed in it was obviously far beyond what was re- 
quired to extinguish the association of freebooters in central 
India. A part of this force proceeded from Bombay into the 
Mahratta territories ; a part did the same from Madras, and a 
part from Bengal. The entire force occupied in this war, and 
under the English control, amounted to 81,000 infantry, and 
33,000 cavahy. The avowed object of this great force was to 
suppress the Pindarrees, but those who understood what was 
going on in the Mahratta courts, had no doubt there would be 
other work for these armies before they could all return to their 
respective quarters. And such expectations were not disap- 
pointed, for it was not long before the Peishwa made a sudden 
attack upon the English subsidiary force at Poona. The Eaja 
of Berar did the same at Nagpore. Holliar commenced war 
with the English. Scindia was only kept in subjection by a 
large force stationed near his capital, while a force from Bom- 
bay restrained the Guickwar in Gujerat, from commencing open 
hostihties. These attacks were successfully repelled, but farther 
battles and sieges, flights and pursuits followed. The war upon, 
rather than with the Pindarrees, was at the same time carried 
on, and for a while nearly all the Mahratta territory appeared to 
be occupied by troops, and in a state of warfare. In these out- 
breaks and conflicts, the English were generally victorious, and 
the native powers soon saw that submission or ruin was before 
them. The Peishwa, after being a fugitive from his capital and 
fleeing before an English force for several months, made a treaty 
in which he renounced all his possessions, rights, etc., to the 
EngKsh, and promised, upon condition of receiving a stipulated 
allowance for life, to fix his residence in Bengal, outside the 
Mahratta tenitories. Scindia, Holkar, the Raja of Nagpore, 
and the Guickwar of Gujerat, entered into new treaties, which by 
reducing their power and admitting subsidiary forces into their 
dominions, or increasing the forces previously stationed there, 
contained new guarantees against engaging in any fm-ther wars, 
or again disturbing the general peace. The Pindarrees, where- 
ever they could be found, were attacked and dispersed, and as 
associated bodies they were annihilated. And the native princes, 
in whose dominions they formerly found refuge and protection, 



HISTOEY — THE EUROPEAN" PERIOD. 259 

entered into treaties to refrain themselves and to restrain their 
subjects and all in their territories from such predatory warfare. 
By this war the English obtained a large accession of territory, 
and what was of more importance to the general welfare of the 
country, they suppressed and extinguished that horrible preda- 
tory warfare which had been spreading for several years, and 
which appeared hkely, if not put down by strong force, soon to 
spread confusion, anarchy, and devastation into aU parts of 
India. 

The Marquis of Hastings continued in the government of 
India for 3 years after the close of the Mahratta war. He was 
a nobleman of high character, and had exhibited distinguished 
talents in war and in Parliament before going to India.* His 
government was generally popular in India and satisfactory to 
the Court of Directors of the East India Company. He did not 
attempt to introduce the revenue and judiciary systems of Ben- 
gal into the territories acquired during his government. These 
new possessions were intrusted to the superintendence and man- 
agement of able and experienced men, who with the sanction of 
the government, introduced such changes as the state and char- 
acter of the people appeared to require. The consequence has 
been that these districts have been governed in a manner far 
more satisfactory to the people, and furnishing better security 
for the protection of life and property than the early posses- 
sions of Bengal. The Marquis of Hastings left India in Janu- 
ary, 1823, having been governor- general for 9 years, a longer 
period than any governor-general since Warren Hastings. 

Mr. George Canning, so well known in the parliamentary and 
political history of England, was appointed governor-general in 
succession to the Marquis of Hastings. But previous to em- 
barking for India, the death of Lord Londonderry caused some 
changes in the ministry, and Mr. Canning became the foreign 
secretary. Lord Amherst was then appointed governor-general, 
and arrived in Calcutta in August, 1823. The country was 

* The Marquis of Hastings Tvas in the war in the United States, which re- 
sulted in their separation from Great Britain. His title was then Lord Rawdon. 
He was at the battle of Bunker Hill, and commanded the British army at the 
battle of Eutaw Springs, where the American forces were commanded by Gen- 
eral Greene. 



260 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

then generally in a state of peace, enjoying as much of quiet 
and repose as could reasonably be expected in a population so 
large, so heterogeneous in their character, and so recently brought 
under the British government. But it was not long before there 
were clear indications that there must soon be a conflict with a 
new power, the Burmese. 

Burma, or the Burmese empire, is not generally considered a 
part of India, but some account of the Burmese war deserves 
a place in any historical sketch of British India, as it resulted 
in an increase of the empire which England has acquhed in the 
southern countries of Asia. The Burmese empire was formed 
by a union of several States, which had some time previously a 
separate national existence. As might be expected of an orien- 
tal nation thus suddenly exalted, the Burmese were conceited 
and arrogant, and as their country bordered on India it appeared 
lilvely that difficulties would arise which would furnish occasion 
for the interference of the British government. 

In 1794, a class of people called Mugs, and who had for some 
reason become obnoxious to the Burmese government, fled in 
great numbers into the English territory near Chittagong. A 
Bm-mese prince with a force of 5,000 men without any intima- 
tion, invaded the district belonging to the English, where he took 
up a position and began to fortify it, while an army of 20,000 
encamped near the border. General Ersldne proceeded with 
considerable force from Calcutta to Chittagong, where the dif- 
ficulty was finally adjusted without any fighting, and the Bur- 
mese returned into their own territory. But the invasion and 
the negotiation exhibited the spirit of the Burmese. The gov- 
ernor-general v/ishing to insure futm-e amicable intercourse and 
to obtain more information of a people and country with which 
the English might at any time be brought into conflict, de- 
spatched Colonel Symes on an embassy to Ava, the Burmese 
capital. This embassy was apparently successful, and for a 
wMle aU was quiet. But in a few years great numbers of the 
same class of people, again fled for protection into the English 
territories, and caused fi-esh troubles on the frontiers. Colonel 
Symes was again sent to Ava, and matters were adjusted. In 
aU these transactions the Burmese exhibited an overbearing and 
arrogant spirit, which did not promise long peace. In 1818, 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 261 

■when in the midst of the Mahratta war, the governor-general 
received a letter from the king of Burma, in which he claimed 
Chittagong, Dacca, Moorshedabad, and Cossimbazar, as prov- 
inces which at some former period had belonged to the kingdom 
of Arracan, and he demanded that they should be surrendered 
to him. The governor-general returned a suitable answer to this 
letter, which was never noticed by the Burmese. Had the Mah- 
ratta war continued, it was then beheved that the Bm-mese would 
soon have invaded the eastern provinces of Bengal. In 1820, '21, 
'22, and '23, they committed many outrages upon persons in the 
employment or under the protection of the EngUsh government. 
Some of these persons were plundered, some were kiUed, and 
some were taken prisoners and kept in confinement. The Eng- 
lish in repeUing these attacks killed a considerable number of 
the Bm'mese. Thus a state of actual war existed, though there 
had been no declaration of war on either side. 

Early in 1824, the English government communicated a 
statement or declaration of these matters to the government of 
Ava, and in a few weeks they received a reply in which the 
claim formerly made to several British provinces was renewed ; 
some injuries suffered from the Enghsh were alleged, and it was 
declared, that as the Burmese governors and officers had fuU 
power to act in all such affairs, no further communication should 
be made to the Burmese sovereign, " the lord of the seas and 
the earth," till all the matters in question should be finally set- 
tled. It was now evident that nothing further could be obtained 
by negotiation, and the British prepared to prosecute the war 
with vigor. A small force was despatched against Assam. 
They had great difficulties in passing through the districts, not 
from any enemies, but from thick jungles, ravines, etc. They at 
length reached the place and took possession of it without any 
opposition. The principal force was despatched from Calcutta 
and Madras against the maritime possessions of the Burmese. 
Sir Archibald Campbell was appointed to the chief command, 
and the forces, when united on the Bm-mese coast, exceeded 
11,000. They reached Rangoon in May, 1824. The Burmese 
forces, or the inhabitants, fired a few guns and then fled. When 
the English forces entered the town they found it deserted, and 
before night the Enghsh colors were flying on the Burmese staff. 



262 INDIA, AITCIENT AND MODERN. 

On the approach of the fleet, all the foreigners in the city were 
seized and confined. As soon as the British were in possession 
of the place, one of the prisoners, (Dr. Judson, of the American 
Baptist Mission,) was sent to the officer in command to inquire 
what terms would be granted, the inquiry being accompanied 
by an intimation that the lives of the foreigners depended upon 
the answer that should be returned. The answer was that it 
was too late to inquire about terms, that the prisoners must be 
given up, that any injury to them would be punished, and that 
their persons and private property should be respected. The 
messengers said they would consult those who sent them 
and then bring an answer. But on returning to consult 
them, they had removed to another place, and could not be 
found. Three of the prisoners had been left behind ; the others 
had been hurried away. " Great fears were entertained for their 
safety. Those fears were happily relieved on the morning after 
the occupation of the town, the missing persons being discov- 
ered by some reconnoitring parties, before whom the guards 
placed over them had fled."* The city, or town of Rangoon, 
was supposed to entertain 50,000 inhabitants, but all had fled, 
and " not a native of any age or sex was to be seen." In a few 
days, some individuals returned, but they came as spies to ob- 
serve the conduct of the invaders. The rainy season soon com- 
menced, and the rains were very heavy. The English, suppos- 
ing, as they were going to a large city, a seaport surrounded 
with a populous and cultivated country, that provisions would 
be easily procurable, were not prepared for such circumstances 
as now surrounded them. They began to suffer for want of 
provisions, while fever and dysentery were very severe. It was 
soon apparent that the war had been commenced at an unfavor- 
able season of the year, and without due preparation. The 
force was compelled to remain shut up in Rangoon for some 
time, only maldng now and then short excujsions into the 
vicinity and capturing the Burmese mihtary posts, which were 
generally only stockades recently erected. The EngHsh force 
also suffered much inconvenience and loss for want of more 
knowledge of the country around them. 

* Thornton, vol. 5, p. 21, 22. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 263 

Near the close of the rainy season, an expedition under Col. 
Godwin, was despatched against Marteban, which succeeded in 
taking the place. A large number of guns and a great quantity 
of military stores were found in it, the loss of which must have 
been severely felt by the Burmese. An expedition under Col. 
Miles was sent to the Tennasserim coast, which took possession 
of Tavoy and Mergui. Some reverses which resulted in the 
defeat and dispersion of the British force on the frontier, en- 
com-aged the Burmese to undertake more aggressive operations. 
In December, a large army approached Rangoon, and began to 
throw up intrenchments in front of the British army. These 
were soon attacked, and the men occupying them were dispersed. 
The Burmese then endeavored to burn the EngHsh ships by 
sending fire rafts down the river.* On the 5th and 7th of De- 
cember, vigorous attacks were made upon the Burmese army 
which had encamped near Rangoon, and they were defeated 
and routed with great loss. After some time the army again 
retm-ned and made arrangements for burning the town, and at 
the same time attacking the English force. The town was set 
on fire in several places and half of it reduced to ashes, but for 
some unknown reasons no attack on the English force was then 
made. A few days after the conflagration, the English force 
made .an attack upon the Burmese army, estimated at more 
than 20,000, and took possession of their intrenchments and 
stockades. The same day also more than 40 Burmese war- 
boats were taken. The Burmese now retned from Rangoon, 
and Sir A. Campbell prepared to carry the war into the enemy's 
country, and if possible to reach Prome. A part of the force 

* " These fire rafts were ingeniously contrived and formidably constructed, 
made wholly of bamboos firmly wrought together, between every 2 or 3 rows 
of which a line of earthen jars of considerable size, filled with petroleum or earth- 
oil and cotton were secured. Other inflammable ingredients were also distrib- 
uted in different parts of the rafts, and the almost unextlnguishable fierceness 
of the flames proceeding from them can scarcely be imagined. Many of them 
were more than 100 feet in length, and were divided into many pieces attached 
to each other by means of long hinges, so arranged that when they caught upon 
the cable or bow of any ship, the force of the current should carry the ends of the 
raft completely round her, and envelope her in flames from the deck to her top- 
mast>-head, with scarce a possibility of being extricated from immediate destruc- 
tion." 



264 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

embarked in boats to proceed on the Irrawaddy, and the rest be- 
gan their march on the land. On their way the two forces 
united in taking the strong fort of Donobew. When this fort 
was invested, "the garrison made a sortie with a consider- 
able force, and 17 war elephants fully caparisoned, and bearing 
on their capacious bodies armed men." On arriving at Prome, 
the place was found to be deserted. In this city the army found 
comfortable accommodations, and remained for several months 
in consequence of the setting in of the rains. 

So much difficulty had been experienced in making any im- 
pression on the Burmese government by these operations, that it 
was resolved to send a large force into Arracan. For this pur- 
pose an army of 11,000 men under Gen. Morrison was collected 
in Chittagong, and a large armed flotilla was attached to it. A 
part of the force embarked in the flotilla, and the rest proceeded 
by land. The army reached the city of Arracan, and on the 
29th of March, made an attack on the place. A considerable 
Burmese force was collected there, but their efforts in defending 
the place availed but little, as Gen. Morrison succeeded by 
changing his mode of attack in taking the city without much 
loss. The Burmese, on the loss of the capital, abandoned all 
their positions in Arracan. Thus far this expedition had been 
successful, but greater trials were yet before them. It was 
found impossible to proceed over the mountains to effect a junc- 
tion with the force on the Irrawaddy, and the rainy season 
which now commenced, proved to be very unhealthy, bringing 
with it fever and dysentery, the same diseases which were so 
mortal at Rangoon in the previous rainy season. Sickness be- 
came almost universal, and the mortality became so great that 
it was thought expedient to withdraw the greater part of the 
army from the province, only a small force remaining in some 
places not so unfavorable to health. 

The rainy season having passed away. Sir. A. Campbell was 
preparing for more aggressive operations, when proposals for ne- 
gotiations were received from the Burmese. Several weeks 
were spent in conferences on the subject. But aU was without 
any satisfactory result, and both parties prepared to renew hos- 
tilities. A large Bm-mese army soon approached Prome, throw- 
ing up intrenchments and stockades in their peculiar manner, 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 265 

as they advanced towards the British Knes. On the 30th of 
November, and the 2d and 5th of December, attacks in which 
the land force and the flotilla cooperated, were made upon differ- 
ent parts of the Burmese army, and resulted in the British ob- 
taining possession of aU the positions of their enemies, and 
dispersing them in every direction. The British army now ad- 
vanced further into the Burmese country, but they suffered much 
from sickness and want of provisions. The country exhibited 
on every side the shocking evils of barbarian war.* Neverthe- 
less the army continued to advance, stopping now and then to 
take some fort or stockade, or to attack some Burmese force, or 
to consider some unsatisfactory proposals for peace. A treaty 
was once agreed upon by the negotiating parties, but the Bur- 
mese government would not ratify it, and so hostilities were 
continued. As Sir A. Campbell was approaching the capital, 
he was informed that a new sovereign had acceded to power, 
and the treaty some time previously made was soon ratified. 
By this treaty the Burmese sovereign made large cessions of 
territory to the English, and paid 2 crore of rupees, ($10,000,- 
000,) towards the expenses of the war. 

In the central part of India lived a tribe called the Jauts. 
Their chief had the title of Raja, and was often called the Raja 
of Bhurtpore, the principal city in his dominions, and situated 
about 40 miles nearly west from Agra. In 1823, the Raja died 
without issue, and was succeeded by one of his brothers, whose 
claim and dignity were duly recognized by the English govern- 
ment. Doorjun Singh, the son of another brother, now formed a 
plan of succeeding himself to the throne, should it again become 
vacant. In 1825, the Raja died, leaving one son, then in his 6th 
year. Soon after the Raja's death, Doorjun Singh, having gained 
a part of the army to his cause, made an attack upon the fort, 
killed some of the family and took others (among whom was 
the young Raja) prisoners. The state of matters soon became 
complicated, and as the English had made a treaty with the de- 
ceased Raja, by which the succession had been guaranteed to 
his son, they felt it their duty now to interfere. Much effort was 
made to adjust the difficulties and reconcile the parties to each 

* Snodgrass' Journal, p. 253-260; also, Thornton, vol. 5, p. 73. 
23 



266 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

other, but without any success. Li the mean time a quarrel 
arose between Doorjun Singh and his brother, Madu Singh, 
and soon each attacked the other with all the military force he 
could command. Matters continued in a state of civil war for 
some time, when the resort of mUitary and lawless adventurers 
to Bhurtpore, and the spirit manifested towards the Enghsh 
po^ver became such, that means for suppressing them were 
deemed necessary. As Doorjun Singh was determined to sup- 
port his pretensions, and the fort of Bhurtpore was known to be 
very strong, and generally believed by the natives to be impreg- 
nable, it was resolved that a large force should proceed against 
it. Accordingly an army of 25,000 men, with 200 pieces of ar- 
tillery, arrived at Bhurtpore, in December of 1825, and invested 
the place. Mines were sunk under the bastions, and when these 
exploded, the besieging army rushed in and took possession of 
the fort. The young Raja was soon duly established in power, 
and the usurper, Doorjun Singh, was taken prisoner and sent 
to Allahabad. As a former attempt by Lord Lake to take 
Bhm-tpore failed, the natives regarded the place as impregnable, 
and believed the English would never be able to obtain posses- 
sion of it. This belief excited great interest in this war, and the 
fall of the fort in so short a time after it was invested, (only 37 
days,) and on the first assault, produced a profound impression 
throughout the country, and increased the confidence of all 
classes of people in the resources and power of the Enghsh gov- 
ernment. A large amount of treasure was found in Bhurtpore, 
which became prize money of the conquerors. 

The taking of Bhurtpore was the last great act in the admin- 
istration of Lord Amherst. The next year the Raja of Kola- 
pore, one of the Mahratta princes and a man of profligate char- 
acter, became involved in some difficulties with the government 
of Bombay, and it became necessary to despatch a force against 
him. On the arrival of this force at his capital, the difficulties 
were adjusted by negotiation without any fighting. In 1824, 
Singapore, Malacca, and the Dutch possessions were obtained 
from the king of Holland, by negotiation. New treaties were 
made with several of the native princes. Such treaties were 
generally made on the occasion of some new prince succeeding 
to power, or some change in the dynasty, or some family or 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 267 

political troubles which were referred to the English government 
for adjustment, or which were of such a nature that the govern- 
ment thought their interference was requu-ed. Such treaties 
were generally more and more; in favor of the English govern- 
ment ; they were generally such as the EngHsh demanded or 
dictated, and showed that the scattered fragments of the native 
powers were becoming fewer and weaker. 

In 1827, Lord William Bentinck became governor-general of 
India. The country was generally in a state of peace. Some 
pretended reformers among the Mohammedans caused much 
trouble at Baraset in Bengal, which at length assumed so much 
the appearance of a religious war among the different classes of 
Mohammedans and Hindus that it became necessary to send an 
armed force against them. In an attack upon them 50 were 
killed, 350 were taken prisoners, and the rest were dispersed. 
Several petty princes occasioned trouble, and required, as the 
English thought, the interposition of their power to adjust their 
difficulties. Among these were the Raja of Queda, and the 
chief- of Nanning in the Malay peninsula. These chiefs came 
into connection with the English by their acquisition of 
Malacca. 

In 1834, the Raja of Coorg occasioned much trouble. Coorg 
was a small native State on the Avest side of the peninsula, hav- 
ing the Ghats for its western border. This country had been 
but little explored by Europeans, and was so rough and moun- 
tainous that it was almost impassable. The British forces at- 
tempted to penetrate the country from different directions, but 
they found it fortified by numerous stockades which the inhabi- 
tants defended with great bravery. The war was of a very ha- 
rassing nature and continued for some time. The capital of the 
district was at length taken, and the Raja surrendered himself a 
prisoner. His territory was annexed to the British dominions. 
A pension was assigned to him and he fixed his residence at 
Bangalore. Little sympathy was felt with the Raja for the loss 
of power which he had so much abused. " The occupation of 
Coorg opened to the conquerors a vast body of evidence relat- 
ing to the crimes of its former sovereign, evidence of numerous 
murders, some secret, some public, some the offspring of revenge, 
and some the results of a barbarous policy. Women not less 



268 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

than those of the sterner sex, and children as well as adults, 
were numbered among the victims of his cruelty. Of the 
royal family, not a single male, except the guilty Raja, sur- 
vived." * The money found in the treasury of the Raja became 
the property of the conquerors, and $600,000 of prize money 
were distributed among the officers and soldiers. 

Scindia, the most powerful of the Mahratta chiefs, dying with- 
out issue, the supreme power was seized by his widow, who in 
accordance with native usage adopted a son to succeed her hus- 
band. A violent quarrel between her and this adopted son oc- 
curred, which occasioned for some time a state of anarchy and 
civil war. A compromise was at length made, the widow 
receiving a fixed pension and the adopted son assummg the 
government. 

The Raja of Joudpore, one of the Rajpoot States, having 
refused to pay the stipulated tribute to the English for 2 or 3 
years, and in some other respects having manifested a hostile 
disposition, an army of 10,000 men was sent to reduce him to 
obedience. After much prevarication and delay he submitted 
just in time to prevent being deposed. Jeypore, another of the 
Rajpoot States, was the scene of more tragical events. The 
British subsidiary force having interposed in some quarrels in 
the native court, several officers were attacked, and 2 of them 
were killed. The persons ultimately found to be guUty of insti- 
gating this attack, were sentenced to be put to death, but the 
sentence was commuted into exile and imprisonment. In 1835, 
a great sensation was produced through Lidia by the assassina- 
tion of Mr. Frazer, the agent of the governor-general at Delhi. 
The murderer was discovered, when it was ascertained that in 
perpetrating this atrocious act he was the hired agent of the 
Nabob of Ferozepore, and was acting under his instructions. 
This murder was for considerable time involved in great mys- 
tery. The manner and means by which the principal and his 
agent were at length discovered, proved to be guilty, and the 
determination of the Enghsh government to inffict upon the 
guilty parties, the extreme sentence of the law, excited great 
attention in India. The Nabob and his agent were both pub- 

* Thornton, vol. 5, p. 212. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 269 

licly executed at Delhi. The murder, the means by which the 
guilt of the parties was ascertained, and the manner in which 
they suffered the extreme penalty of the law, produced a strong 
moral impression on all classes of the native population. Such 
proceedings of the English government and of their courts have 
had great influence in consolidating their power. 

There was no war with any large native power in the admin- 
istration of Lord William Bentinck. The expenses of the 
government, especially in the military department, had become 
very large under his predecessors, and he was much occupied in 
makuig reductions of various kinds. These changes excited 
great discontent and murmuring in the army. But being him- 
self a military oflicer of high character and having the confi- 
dence of the Court of Directors, he was able to carry his plans 
of reform into effect. He prohibited the practice of Suttee, or of 
a widow burning herself with the body of her deceased husband. 
He also passed a law designed to secure to converts to Chris- 
tianity their personal and property rights against the intol- 
erant rules and usages of caste, and he is generally reckoned 
among the best governors-general India has ever had. In 1835, 
his health failed, and he returned to England. 

The East India Company's charter which had been renewed in 
1813, was to expire by limitation in 1833. In anticipation of 
its approach, large committees were appointed in both houses 
of Parliament in 1830, to make inquiry into the affairs of the 
Company, and into all matters connected with the state of Li- 
dia, the views and circumstances of the inhabitants, etc. The 
affairs of the Company were investigated with great care and 
labor. The proceedings of these committees were long and 
particular, and their reports* furnished occasion for much dis- 
cussion and long debates in Parliament. The result was a 
renewal of the charter and its continuance, with some important 
changes, for another 20 years. Among the changes made were 
the following : — The monopoly of the trade between England 
and China was to cease. The commercial character of the 
Company was also to cease. All the property of the Company 

* These reports, and the other papers concerning the East India Company, 
then printed and laid before Parliament, made 14,000 closely printed pages of 
large 4to. 

23* 



270 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

was to be surrendered to the crown in return for an annuity of 
£630,000, redeemable after 40 years, at the rate of £100 for 
every £5. 5s. of this annuity. This sum of £630,000, or a divi- 
dend of 10 1-2 per cent, upon the capital, was to be charged to 
and paid from the territorial revenues of India, and the crown 
(or England) became responsible for all the debts and obhga- 
tions of the Company. In closing the commercial business of 
the Company, £2,000,000 of the assets were to be invested as a 
guaranty fund for the future redemption of the capital or stock of 
the Company. And as the proprietors could receive only a fixed 
dividend, whatever might remain from the commercial assets 
after satisfying the claims of aU persons employed in this de- 
partment, was to be appropriated to the objects and purposes 
stiU under the Company, as the payment of debts, cm-rent ex- 
penses, etc. The government of India was to continue in the 
hands of the Company for 20 years. The ecclesiastical estab- 
lishment was enlarged. Under the previous charter it consisted 
of a bishop in Bengal, and an archdeacon in each of the minor 
presidencies. The bishop in Bengal was made metropohtan by 
this charter, while Madras and Bombay were to have each a 
suf&agan bishop. 

Lord William Bentinck left India in 1835, and as no suc- 
cessor had arrived, the government devolved upon Su* Charles 
Metcalf, the senior member of council. His administration was 
chiefly remarkable for removing some restrictions which had 
hitherto existed on the press in India. This change caused 
much discussion in India and in England. Many apprehended 
that to allow every individual to publish what he pleased, sub- 
ject only to such penalties for abusing this liberty as existed in 
England, would soon be productive of great evils, and that it 
would soon be necessary to reimpose the former restrictions, or 
something equivalent to them. But the press, though used as 
freely by different classes of the native population in the discus- 
sion of pohtical, rehgious, and all other matters in their respec- 
tive languages, as it is by the European population in the 
EngHsh language, has continued to be free, and none of the 
evils which were anticipated, have resulted from it. Thus mak- 
ing the press free, showed much liberahty in the government, and 
its continuance so long to be free, without any unhappy conse- 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 271 

quences resulting from it, is a strong testimony to the general 
wisdom of the administration of the government through aU the 
changes of this period. 

Lord Aucldand became governor-general in 1836. For some 
time after his arrival in India, nothing remarkable occurred. In 
1837, the Nabob of Oude, a weak-minded and profligate prince, 
died, and as usual in oriental courts, a quarrel ensued for the 
succession. On one occasion he had acknowledged two lads to 
be his sons, but the common belief then was that he had done 
this at the instigation of certain parties. He afterwards ac- 
knowledged that he had done so, and that he had no children. 
In these circumstances the governor-general resolved to support 
an uncle of the late Nabob, who, according to Mohammedan 
usage, was the legal heir. The friends of one of the pretended 
sons united in supporting his claim, and for a while the palace 
and the city were the scene of violent dissensions and tumults. 
The party which was supported by the English prevailed, as 
might have been foreseen, and the other party was compelled 
to withdraw from the Nabob's territory. All these changes 
strengthened, and they generally enlarged the Enghsh power 
and influence among all classes of people. 

A yet more troublesome difficulty soon occurred ; the case of 
the E.aja of Sattara. In the settlement of the affairs of the Dec- 
kan at the close of the last Mahratta war one of the family of 
Shevajee, the founder of the Mahratta empire, v/ho had long 
been in confinement, was set at liberty and placed over a small 
territory with Sattara for its capital. This prince, naturally 
of a restless and intriguing disposition, was accused in 1836, 
of being engaged in carrying on secret correspondence with 
other native powers, and also of some other acts in violation of 
his engagements to the English authority, with a view to excite 
prejudice against them to whom he was indebted for his fi-ee- 
dom and elevation to power. Inquiries into these matters were 
carried on for 2 or 3 years, and became the subject of much 
correspondence and discussion in India and in England. The 
result was that he was deposed and removed to Benares. A 
generous pension was allowed for his support, and his younger 
brother was put in his place. The question of his restoration 
continued to be agitated in the Court of Directors for several 



272 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

years, by his friends and a well paid agency. The Mahratta 
people generally appeared to feel much interest in the proceed- 
ings and the result. Their sympathies were with the Raja, and 
their desu-e was for his restoration to power. The Raja and his 
brother, who was put on the throne, both died some 4 or 5 years 
ago, and as they had no male offspring, the English took pos- 
session of the kingdom of Sattara, and annexed it to their own 
territory. 

All the great invasions of India, previous to Em'opeans pro- 
ceeding round the Cape of Good Hope, were from the north- 
west. Thence Alexander the Great, Mahmoud, Tamerlane, Ba- 
ber, and Nadir Shah entered the country. The Enghsh soon 
after commencing their course of conquest and possession in 
India, became apprehensive of danger from the north-west, and 
before the close of the last century Zemaun Shah, the sovereign 
of Cabul, occasioned them much uneasiness. In the early part 
of the present century the English government in India, made 
several treaties with the rulers of Persia and Afghanistan, with 
a view to secure Lidia from invasion by the French ; and after 
the fall of Napoleon, means were used to strengthen Persia 
against Russia for the security of India. In the course of a 
few years a war occurred between Persia and Russia and the 
latter obtained a large accession of territory from the former, 
and so extended her southern border towards India. She also 
acquired a paramount influence at the court of Persia, and 
under that influence, Persia laid claim to several provinces 
of Afghanistan, and proceeded to enforce that claim by mak- 
ing war upon Herat. If Persia should succeed in estabhsh- 
ing her power over these provinces, and so extend her border 
thus far towards India, then being under the influence of Rus- 
sia, and even holding her national existence by the sufferance of 
Russia, this extension of the Persian border would be in effect 
the extension of the Russian border towards India. The gov- 
ernment of India becoming aware of the influence at work in 
Persia, and in the country between Persia and India, sent Sir 
A. Burnes on a mission of observation and inquiry into Afghan- 
istan. He reported that at Cabul, he found a duly accredited 
Russian agent, forming treaties with the Afghan chiefs, and 
encouragmg them in an aggressive warfare towards India, by 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 273 

promises of aid from Russia. Sir A. Burnes' communications 
to his government concerning the state of political parties and 
plans in Afghanistan, excited great attention in India, while at 
the same time the communications of the British Ambassador 
in Persia concerning Russian agency and intrigue in that coun- 
try, to the Ministry in England, excited great attention there. 
The result of much correspondence and consideration was a de- 
termination to establish a counteracting British influence in 
Afghanistan, and as Dost Mohammed, then the ruler of Cabul, 
had declined the mterest and friendship of the English, it was 
resolved to reestablish Shah Shuja, a former sovereign of that 
country, who had been expelled by Dost Mohammed, and for 
some years had been Kving under EngKsh protection in India. 

In accordance with this determination a treaty was made 
with Shah Shuja, and he was assisted to raise a force to take 
possession of his former kingdom, whUe a yet larger English 
force under Su Henry Fane was to accompany him.* Treaties 
were also made with Runjeet Singh, the ruler of the Sikhs, and 
between him and Shah Shuja. By this treaty Runjeet Singh 
engaged to invade Afghanistan, by way of Peshawur, while 
Shah Shuja and the army that accompanied him, invaded it 
by way of Candahar and Ghizni. It was intended the two 
forces should meet at Cabul. The army which was to proceed 
by way of Candahar, amounted to 25,250 men. The army 
which was to proceed by way of Peshawur amounted to 10,800 
men. The large army arrived at Candahar without encounter- 
ing any resistance, but they suffered much on the march for want 
of provisions and water. At Candahar the ancient capital of 
Afghanistan, " Shah Shuja was crowned with every circum- 
stance of pomp and external honor." From Candahar they 
proceeded to Ghizni, reputed to be the strongest fort in Afghan- 
istan, and supplied with a large garrison under a son of Dost 
Mohammed. In the vicinity of the fort w^as also a large Afghan 
force prepared to embarrass them, if they should besiege it, and 
to resist then- further progress. The fort was found to be much 
larger and apparently stronger than was expected. Despatch 
was of great importance, and as one of the gates was accessible, 

* Sir Henry Fane soon resigned the command to Sir John Keane, ivho had 
the chief conunand in the early part of the Afghan war, and who became Lord 
Keane. 



274 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

a resolution was formed to blow it open, if possible, with pow- 
der. For this purpose bags of powder containing 900 lbs. were 
placed at this gate in the night, and a train was prepared to fire 
it. At the time expected, just after dawn, the powder exploded 
and " shattered the gate entirely to pieces." The storming party 
immediately rushed in and soon had possession of the fort. 
The loss of Ghizni, on which Dost Mohammed had placed 
great dependence, disconcerted his plans, and through one of his 
brothers he opened negotiations with the English, but on learn- 
ing that the first condition of any treaty would be for him to 
surrender all his power and possessions, and go to reside in some 
part of the English territories in India, he refused compliance 
and retreated into the northern part of his dominions. The 
army proceeded firom Ghizni to Cabul, and took possession of 
the fort and town. In a few weeks the force that had proceeded 
by way of Peshawur and JellaUabad reached Cabul, and the 
two armies united. The greater part of Afghanistan appeared 
now quietly to submit to the government of Shah Shuja. Some 
petty chiefs in the remote districts had not tendered then sub- 
mission, but no reason appeared for anxiety on account of their 
power, or of any combination likely to be formed among them. 
Dost Mohammed was at liberty and had refused to surrender 
his power and possessions, but as his artillery had been taken 
and his army dispersed, it was not supposed he had power re- 
maining to occasion much trouble. 

The conquest of Afghanistan having been thus apparently 
achieved and Shah Shuja acknowledged as its sovereign, the 
English army began to prepare to return to India. There were 
stiU some indications that the obedience generally manifested to 
Shah Shuja was more from fear than from loyalty, and unhap- 
pily he and his sons did not pursue a course calculated to pro- 
cure respect and confidence. So it was resolved that a very 
considerable force should remain in Afghanistan to secure the 
sovereign in power, and for any other purposes that might occur 
in those changing countries. A part of the Bombay army oil" 
its return attacked and took Kelat, which belonged to Mekrab 
Khan, an Afghan chief, who had manifested a hostile spirit to 
the EngKsh, and committed some depredations upon the bag- 
gage of their army on its march to Candahar. It was after- 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 275 

wards retaken by the Afghans, and recovered by the English. 
It was the scene of much hard fighting. The tribe of Murrees 
and the tribe of Ghilzies, by their refractory spirit and plunder- 
ing habits, occasioned the army great trouble, and required ex- 
treme measures to suppress them. 

In the mean time. Dost Mohammed, having obtained aid from 
the Usbeck tribes and collected a very considerable force, recom- 
menced hostUities to recover what he could of his former posses- 
sions. He was joined by several Afghan chiefs, and his force 
increased to 10,000. He made several attempts to retrieve his 
affairs, but finding that his force was leaving him, and that he 
could place httle reliance upon his followers, he resolved to sur- 
render himself at discretion to the British authority at Cabul. 
He and his family (all who had surrendered) were removed to 
India, and a generous sum was allowed them for their support. 

It was supposed that the surrender and removal of Dost Mo- 
hammed would restore quiet, and reconcile the people to the 
government of Shah Shuja. But it was not so. A spirit of 
iisaffection was evidently increasing in the country. Many 
harassing conflicts took place, and Gen. Sale was forced to 
abandon his position, and with great effort and difficulty suc- 
ceeded in retreating into JeUaUabad, and there defending himself. 
In November of 1841, Sir A. Burnes, who had his quarters in 
the town of Cabul at some distance from the English canton- 
ments, was suddenly attacked, and with his brother and 2 other 
English officers, was assassinated, and the house in which he 
lived was set on fire. Several other officers were attacked the 
same day. The insurrection thus commenced soon spread 
over the country. The English force in Cabul consisted of 
5,500 men under Gen. Elphinstone, who was in feeble health, 
and greatly wanting in the energy and decision requisite for such 
an emergency. The English camp was soon surrounded with an 
infmiated army. In a few days this force got possession of the 
English commissariat, which was soon plundered. The state 
of the army now daily became more distressing. Various plans 
were proposed, considered, and rejected. Attacks upon them 
were made, repelled, and renewed. The Engfish forces daily 
became weaker and more discouraged, and the assailing forces 
became more numerous and furious. Negotiations were opened, 



276 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

but no terms could be agreed upon, and war was renewed with 
fury. At length some terms were mutually agreed upon between 
Sir W. Macnaghten, the EngHsh Envoy and several Afghan 
chiefs, but before these were ratified, the Envoy was invited to a 
conference with some of the chiefs, and there assassinated. The 
state of the English became now, if possible, still more distressing, 
and the purpose was formed to retreat to JeUallabad, 100 miles 
nearly east on the way towards India. " The army, though the 
loss had been considerable in the late harassing warfare, stiU con- 
sisted of 690 Europeans, 2,840 native infantry, and 970 cavalry, 
in all 4,500 fighting men. There were besides, 12,000 camp- 
followers, who rendered the preservation of any order almost im- 
possible." They commenced their march on the 6th of January, 
1842. The weather was cold, and the snow was deep. On the 
9th, the ladies with their husbands, (all the latter who chose,) 
placed themselves under the protection of AJibar Khan, a son 
of Dost Mohammed, and remained behind. The retreat or 
rather flight of the army continued, the infuriated Afghans pur- 
suing, plundering, and massacring them. Many of them went 
over to the enemy. Some were taken prisoners, but more were 
killed, or perished through fatigue, hunger, and cold. Only one. 
Dr. Brydon, reached Jellallabad to communicate the tragic in- 
teUigence of what had taken place at Cabul and on the retreat. 
Of this retreat, the History of British India says : — " The cap- 
tives were about 70 ; an unknown proportion of the native 
troops and followers had gone over to the enemy, but by far the 
greater part of the 16,500 who left the cantonment at Cabul, 
had miserably perished. This retreat may be considered with- 
out a parallel, if not in the extent, at least in the completeness, 
of its calamity." 

This insurrection extended through aU parts of Afghanistan. 
The fort of Ghizni was attacked and surrendered. Candahar 
was attacked by a large force, but they were repelled by Gen. 
Nott, then in charge. Several attacks were made upon JeUalla- 
bad, but they were repelled. The Afghans having assembled in 
large force at JeUaUabad, an attack was made upon them by the 
garrisons, and they were routed with great slaughter. The news 
of these disasters, and of the circumstances of the force still re- 
maining in Afghanistan, produced a great sensation in India 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN" PERIOD. 277 

among the European and native population. The English army- 
had never before suffered such reverses in the East. The 
government took vigorous measures to sustain its power, to re- 
lieve the scattered forces, and obtain the prisoners yet in 
Afghanistan, as soon as the season would admit of any ad- 
vance into that country. With this view Gen. England pro- 
ceeded from Scinde with 4,000 men, and a large supply of funds 
and stores to reinforce Candahar, but the Afghans attacked him 
with so much vigor on the way, that he was compelled to halt 
in the fort of Quetta, where he was besieged, and could not ad- 
vance till a large force came to his aid. A large force proceeded 
from Peshawur, under Gen. PoUock, and succeeded in reaching 
JeUallabad. 

Some proceedings in England in respect to the war in 
Afghanistan, and the continued occupation of that country, add- 
ed to the disasters and reverses which had taken place, induced 
Lord Auckland, the governor-general, to resign, and Lord EUen- 
borough, his successor, arrived in Calcutta, in February, 1842. 
The course now to be pursued in respect to the continuance of 
the war and the occupation of Afghanistan, became the sub- 
ject of much consideration and correspondence. Shah Shuja, 
who had been restored as the sovereign of the country by 
the power of the English, had from his first return to his 
country, disappointed the expectations which had been formed 
of him. One of his sons, Suftur Jung, joined the Afghans in 
their insurrection against the English, and there were reasons for 
believing that this course had his father's concurrence. "When 
Shah Shuja was endeavoring to put himself at the head of one 
party, he was attacked by another party and put to death. 
Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammed, and principal agent 
in the insurrection there, became the acknowledged head of the 
Afghan nation. So the purpose of the English to restore Shah 
Shuja and his family to their former place and power, and 
by their means establish a permanent English influence in the 
countries north-west from India, had utterly failed. K-unjeet 
Singh, the head of the Sikhs and sovereign of Lahore, who 
was a party to the treaty with Shah Shuja, for invading Afghan- 
istan, had died, and his kingdom was almost in a state of 
anarchy. The Sikhs were now too much occupied with their 

24 



278 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

own internal affairs to become a party in any further measures 
or plans concerning Afghanistan. 

In these circumstances it was resolved to recover the prisoners 
remaining in Afghanistan, and then withdraw aU the forces and 
leave the chiefs and people to establish what government they 
pleased. Negotiations for an exchange of prisoners, including 
Dost Mohammed, were commenced, but no terms could be 
agreed upon. In August, 1842, General Pollock left JeUaUabad 
for Cabul. There was much skirmishing and some hard fight- 
ing with the enemy at different places on the march, but the 
English army reached Cabul on the 14th of September. A part 
of the army at Candahar returned under General England to 
Scinde, and the rest under General Nott proceeded to Cabul. 
He had several conflicts with the Afghan chiefs on the way, but 
arrived at Cabul safely and joined General PoUock. The pris- 
oners, 70 in number, among whom were a number of Enghsh 
ladies, were still in the hands of the Afghans. Various plans 
and schemes were formed, and negotiations on the part of the 
prisoners and the officers with the different chiefs were com- 
menced, and before the close of the month all were recovered. 
The Afghan chiefs now all went to the north beyond the reach 
of the Enghsh force, so after taking and destroying a few forts 
in the vicinity of Cabul, the army returned to India. Dost 
Mohammed and other Afghan prisoners were set at liberty, and 
returned to their own country, and the Afghans were left to 
establish any form of government over themselves, and make 
any treaties with other nations which they pleased. 

Russia, when called on for some explanation concerning 
her agency in Afghanistan, denied having had any such agency 
there as was ascribed to her. But while Count Nesselrode 
made such declarations to the English cabinet. Count Simonich 
(the Russian ambassador in Persia) and his agents continued to 
pursue their course unchanged. There was much difference 
between the declarations of the Russian government, and the 
actions of her agents in the countries between India and Russia, 
and perhaps the English were more alarmed for the safety of 
their possessions in India, than there was occasion. Be this as 
it may, yet all are agreed that no war in which the English have 
ever been engaged in the East, appears to have been managed 



HISTORY THE EUROPEAlSr PERIOD. 279 

with SO little ability, foresight, and discretion, and none have 
been so unsatisfactory in respect to any substantial and per- 
manent results. The loss of life, European and native, was 
very great. The expenses were enormous, and all defrayed from 
the revenues of India. And the losses and miseries inflicted on 
Afghanistan were probably far greater than all endured by the 
English and the people of India. 

The disasters, losses, sufferings, and expenses in the Afghan 
war and its unsatisfactory results, produced a more earnest de- 
sire for continued peace than had existed in India for many 
years. But this desire was not to be reahzed. Mention has 
been made of the Ameers of Scinde, a country lying each side 
of the river Lidus for several hundred miles from its mouth. 
Treaties were made, or rather some old treaties were renewed 
and modified, with these chiefs by Sir John Keane on his way 
with the army from Bombay to Afghanistan in 1839. The state 
of Scinde was far from being quiet during the Afghan war, and 
some matters which then occurred became the subject of inquiry 
and complaint soon after the war had closed. The country of 
Scinde was divided between several chiefs, who were confeder- 
ated and yet partly independent, who were profligate and at 
variance with each other. The disasters and misfortunes which 
the English suffered in Afghanistan and the generally known 
unsatisfactory result of that expedition, destroyed for a while 
much of the prestige of English valor and success in war. Ne- 
gotiations for the explanation or removal of the difficulties with 
the Ameers became compUcated, and at length resulted in open 
hostilities. Several battles soon took place between the Ameers 
and Sir Charles Napier, who had then command of the Enghsh 
forces in Scinde. The character and result of these battles 
were similar to what we have. generally seen in warfare between 
Europeans and natives of India. The Scindeans, though per- 
sonally brave, yet being under unskilful leaders, were easily de- 
feated by forces who had been carefuUy trained in European 
discipline, and were commanded by officers who had become 
experienced in the most approved tactics of modern warfare. 
The armies of the chiefs were defeated and dispersed, their treas- 
ures were seized, their cities and forts taken, and the greater 
part of then- territories annexed to the English possessions ia 



280 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

India. There was much severe controversy in the journals and 
many pamphlets were pubHshed in India and in England, in 
censure and in vindication of this war, of the measures and 
policy in which it originated, of the manner in which it was 
carried on, and the results produced by it, involving the character 
and relative position of the Ameers, and the state, climate, reve- 
nue, resources, etc. of the country and its respective provinces.* 
Some facts and figm'es are certain. It was weU known that 
the Ameers had a large amount of treasure, which in the event of 
a war would become prize-money and the property of the cap- 
tors, The portion of this prize-money which Sir Charles Napier 
obtained for his share was ^350,000, By the conquest of the 
country he became the governor and commander-in-chief of the 
mihtary forces in it, the salary of which was first .£10,000, and 
then .£15,000, or nearly $50,000, and $75,000 yearly.f Scinde 
has been permanently annexed to the British dominions in India. 
The disturbed state of affairs in another native territory soon 
claimed consideration. Scindia, the most powerful of the Mah- 
ratta princes since the close of the last Mahratta war, died in 
1843, without leaving any issue or appointing any one to suc- 
ceed him. His widow with the concurrence of the family and 
Mends, adopted a son, and he was duly installed. But he was a 
child, only 8 years old, and so it became necessary to appoint 
some regent during the prince's minority. A regent was ap- 
pointed, but he soon found a combination against him too pow- 
erful to be controlled. Some connected with the army joined 
this combination, and soon the court and the army were near a 
state of anarchy. The subsidiary treaty between the English 
and the deceased prince bound the former to secure the succes- 
sion to the throne to the legal heir of the latter, and matters 
soon came to such a state as required them to interpose for the 
young prince. So a large force under Sir Hugh Gough, then 
commander-in-chief, accompanied by Lord EUenborough, the 
governor-general, proceeded from Agra towards GwaKor, the 
capital of the territory of Scindia. Several efforts to efTect a 
settlement of the difficulties were made, but they were unsuc- 

* Thornton's History of Britisli India, vol. 6, p. 395-466. 
f Annals of India, p. 1 7. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 281 

cessful. A large part of the Mahratta army took the part of the 
insurgents, and it was not till after two severely contested bat- 
tles that the insurgents would listen to any terms of submission. 
When peace was restored, " the Raja was installed with great 
ceremony at GwaUor in presence of the governor-general, the 
commander-in-chief, and an immense assemblage of native 
chiefs." 

When appointed governor-general. Lord EUenborough's in- 
structions were, to pursue, as far as was possibly consistent with 
the honor and interest of the East India Company and of India, 
a pacific course of policy. But instead of this he had mani- 
fested and encouraged a mihtary spirit beyond any of his prede- 
cessors for many years. " This spirit frequently led him to ^he 
neglect of his civil duties and the internal government of India, 
which was his principal business as governor-general. His 
whole com'se of procedure was erratic and opposed to the defi- 
nite policy by which the Court of Directors had sought to avert 
a continued system of aggression on the surrounding native 
States, and to consolidate the vast possessions over which their 
rule was only very partially and imperfectly extended." The 
Directors at length became so much dissatisfied with his conduct 
that, in the exercise of a right reserved to them in the charter, 
and without consulting the Ministry, they voted his recall. Tliis 
proceeding of the Directors of the East India Company caused 
much surprise and discussion, and, on the part of the governor- 
general's friends, much censure. But no power could reverse it, 
and public opinion in England and in India soon approved of 
the measure. By this act the Directors evinced great decision, 
and showed themselves to be the true friends of India. 

Sir Henry Hardinge, subsequently Lord Hardinge, was ap- 
pointed the next governor-general in May, 1844, and proceeded 
immediately to assume the duties of his office. The death of 
Runjeet Singh, the head of the Sikhs and sovereign of Lahore, 
has been mentioned. He was the most distinguished native 
prince of India in this century. He had built up his kingdom 
for himself, and it was generally expected that it would faU to 
pieces on his demise. Kurruck Singh, one of his sons, succeeded 
him, and was duly installed in power. He soon removed his 
father's prime minister Dhian Singh, and appointed another in 

24* 



282 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

his place. The ex-minister soon found means to destroy the 
new favorite. He then put Kurruck Singh under restraint, and 
placed all the power nominally in the hands of Kurruck Singh's 
son, Now Nihal, the power being really reserved in his own 
hands. But it was only a few weeks before the father and son 
both died, whether by sickness or violence, is not known. The 
afFah's of the Punjab then fell into much confusion. The profli- 
gate and reckless character of some of the chiefs, who came in 
for a share of power and plunder, gave no assurance that they 
would restrain themselves or their followers to their territories, 
and so a large English force was concentrated near the Sikh ter- 
ritory on the opposite side of the river. This "warlilce demon- 
stration, though designed only for defence, yet being evidently 
collected in view of the Sikhs, was perhaps more fitted in then- 
state of feehng to provoke an attack than deter them from it. 
The SOih soldiers or sepoys were brave, conceited, and impul- 
sive, and those who were acquainted with their history and na- 
tional character, did not expect war would be long delayed. 
Nor was this expectation to be disappointed. In December, 
1845, a party of Sikhs crossed the Sutlege and carried off 50 
camels, and distributed the plunder in their own camp. In a few 
days some further depredations were committed, and it was 
apparent from various chcumstances that they were preparing 
to invade the English territory with a large force. The Sikhs 
constructed a bridge of boats over the Sutlege, and in the course 
of a few days a large force with then* guns, etc. passed over. 
The first battle was fought at Moodkee, 20 miles from Feroze- 
pore. The EngKsh force under Lord Gough amounted to 11,- 
000, and the Sikhs were somewhat more numerous. The Sikhs 
made the attack and were repulsed with severe loss of men, and 
17 of their guns were taken. The Enghsh loss was also severe, 
among whom were Sir Robert Sale and Sir John McCasldll, 
officers who had greatly distinguished themselves in the Afghan 
war. 

The Sikhs continued to pass the river till the force collected 
in the Enghsh territory was variously estimated at from 40,000 
to 60,000, with 150 pieces of artillery. The force of the Eng- 
lish there assembled did not exceed 18 or 20,000. On the 21st 
and 22d of December, further battles were fought at Ferozepore, 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 283 

in which the English remained masters of the ground and of 
73 pieces of the Sikh artillery. The loss of the EngHsh force 
was severe, amounting in killed and wounded to one seventh 
part of the force in the field. They also suffered severely for 
want of provisions and from the extreme cold. They were also 
embarrassed for want of ammunition. The unprepared and ill- 
furnished state of the army was the occasion of severe censure. 
Severe and bloody battles were soon fought at Aliwal and Sa- 
braon. In the last-mentioned battle the loss of the Sikhs 
exceeded 8,000 men. These losses and reverses at length in- 
clined the Sikhs to propose negotiations which resulted in peace, 
the Sikhs ceding a large part of their country to the English, 
and paying them ^7,500,000 towards the expenses of the war. 
These defeats, disasters, and humiliating terms of submission, 
were supposed to have broken the spuits of the Sikhs, and laid 
the foundation for peace with them for some years at least. 
Such was the general expectation, and Lord Hardinge on return- 
ing to England, " declared that all danger of insurrection or 
disturbance in the Punjab was at an end." But the warlike and 
independent spirit of the Sikhs was overawed, not subdued. It 
was only suppressed for a while, again to appear in the spirit of 
desperation and fanaticism. Several of the chiefs had still pre- 
served some independence, with very considerable military force 
and pecuniary resources. And a great many, who had formerly 
been soldiers in the regular army, their regiments being now 
disbanded, were without any employment suited to their taste 
and habits, and having no means of support, were anxious to 
resume their former mode of life. Some devotees and fanatics 
encouraged this spirit by assuring them of divine aid, favor, and 
success. Only a rallying point and leader were wanting to 
bring many such persons together, and then to mature purposes 
and plans. The first exhibition of this feeling took place at 
Multan. This city was celebrated in the ancient history of In- 
dia for its strength, and it was generally the capital of some 
independent prince, or the residence of a royal governor. It 
was for some time subject to the sovereigns of Afghanistan, but 
in 1813, Runjeet Singh obtained possession of it, and annexed it 
to his dominions. In the arrangement and settlement of the 
Sikh States consequent upon the peace, Sirdar Khan Singh had 



284 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

been appointed governor of Multan, and Messrs. Agnew and 
Anderson were sent by the British agent at Lahore to install the 
governor into office. On reaching Multan, the former governor, 
Moohaj,. surrendered the fort, etc. into their hands, but on the 
next day a sudden attack was made upon them and both were 
assassmated. It was supposed for some time that this outrage 
was to be ascribed to the Sikh soldiers, many of whom were 
known to cherish feehngs of revenge towards aU English officers. 
But it was not long before various cncumstances led to " the 
discovery of a conspnacy of the most alarming character at 
Lahore, having for its object the massacre of aU the British 
officers, the expulsion of aU the English troops from the Punjab, 
and a revolution in the Sikh government." The English had 
now another SOch war before them, and arrangements were 
made to meet the exigency as fast as possible. The first 
attack on Multan failed, the fort being stronger and more vig- 
orously defended than was expected. At the second attack 
"the besieging army, including the allies, contained 32,000 
men and 150 pieces of ordnance, nearly half of which was of 
the largest cahbre." The city and fort were defended with 
great obstinacy, but were at length compelled to yield, and the 
citadel was occupied by an Enghsh garrison. 

In the mean time the standard of war was raised in several 
places in the Sikh territories. Great numbers gathered around 
them, and the country exhibited the bustle of preparation for 
war. Dost Mohammed, who had again become the sovereign 
of Afghanistan, becoming aware of what was going on in the 
Punjab, came to the Indus with a force of 30,000 men, and cross- 
ing the river, took possession of Attock, apparently prepared to 
secure any advantages for himself which the course of events 
might place within his reach. Arrangements were made to col- 
lect a large English force at Lahore, and commence offensive 
operations under Lord Gough, then commander-in-chief. This 
army amounted to 24,000 men, and Lord Gough assumed the 
command in November, 1848. January 5th, the English camp 
was at Janiki, one day's march from the Sikh camp, which was 
on the other side of the river Chenaub. The Sikh army was esti- 
mated to contain 30,000 men. On the 11th the English marched 
in the direction of the Sikh encampment, and in the afternoon a 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEA]Sr PERIOD. 285 

severe battle, commonly called " the battle of Chillianwalla," was 
fought. " Darkness put an end to the engagement, leaving the 
British in possession of the field of battle. But their loss was 
terrible. Nearly 100 officers were killed or wounded ; 2,269 
troops, including nearly 1,000 Em-opean soldiers were disabled 
or left dead on the field." 

In a few days after this battle, the force which had been en- 
gaged in the siege of Multan, reached the camp of the command- 
er-in-chief. This was a large and timely reinforcement to his 
army, and enabled him again to commence aggressive operations. 
The next engagement is called " the battle of Gujerat," from a 
village of that name near which it was fought. The Sikhs 
were defeated in this battle, and " nearly all their guns, ammu- 
nition, camp equipage, and baggage were captured." This bat- 
tle decided the campaign, and in a few days 13 Sikh chiefs, and 
16,000 men voluntarily surrendered, the chiefs surrendering their 
swords, and the men their arms. A proclamation was issued 
that the war must continue till the Afghans either surrendered, 
or returned to their own country. Accordingly Gen. Gilbert, 
with a sufficient force, immediately proceeded to attack them, 
but found, on approaching Attock, that they were akeady cross- 
ing the Indus. He pursued them as far as to Peshawur on 
the way to Afghanistan, without overtaking them, and then he 
returned. 

This second Sikh war having closed, the governor-general 
issued a proclamation annexing the Punjab, to the British do- 
minions in India. A Board, or Committee of Commissioners, 
of able and experienced men were appointed to assume the ad- 
ministration of the country till all the matters in it and con- 
nected with it, should be prepared to be put under the general 
system of government, which is now observed in the other terri- 
tories in India, which are subject to the English. 

"We now close this sketch of the European History of India, 
with the last great events of the year 1850, just two centuries 
and a half from the origin of the East India Company. 



286 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



REIIAEKS ON THE BRITISH CONQUEST OF INDIA. 

At the close of this sketch of the origin and progress of the 
British power in India, it will not be irrelevant to make some re- 
marks upon the particular qualities or chcumstances which have 
enabled England to conquer and govern a country 10 times her 
size, containing a population 5 times as large, and situated at 
so great a distance. The first thing is 

1. Superiority in the science and practice of war. In all the 
nations of Europe, mihtary colleges are established, and men of 
the highest qualifications are supported in them. War, in all its 
branches, as fortification, gunnery, fencing, attack, and defence, 
has long been taught as science, and to no subject have the 
highest powers and faculties of the mind been apphed with 
more assiduity and energy. Able works are published on all 
these subjects, and opinions, principles, and inventions are sub- 
jected to the test of experiment. Military operations are care- 
fully analyzed. If successful, the causes of that success are 
ascertained ; and if unsuccessful, the causes are searched out 
and understood. No native government in India has ever 
founded or supported any military or naval schools to prepare 
for the mihtary or naval professions. The command of armies 
is generally intrusted to favorites, almost sure to be unfit per- 
sons, or to those who have some experience and been fortunate 
in such matters, whether the result of competency or chance. 
But those who may have acquired some experience and skill, 
having had no previous education in scientific principles to 
guide them, must be very inferior to what they would have been, 
could they have had the advantages of a suitable scientific edu- 
tion at first. 

Officers in the armies of the native princes of India have not 
the means and advantages of improvement which European 
officers have. They have no books on the subjects of their 
profession, and few if any histories of wars and battles which 
they can examine. Nor do they learn so much of each other in 
social and professional intercourse. In times of trouble and 
difficulty, councils of war are seldom if ever called or known. 
In oriental armies, all power is generally vested in one com- 



HISTOET — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 287 

commander, and all confidence is placed in him. If he is killed, 
and it becomes known, this generally decides the battle. There 
is none to take his place, none in whom they have confidence. 
All are panic-struck, and confusion and flight ensue. I have 
often heard the natives of India express their surprise at the 
difference between European and Indian armies in this respect. 
In European armies or regiments, if the commander is killed or 
wounded, another officer at once assumes the command, and 
then another and another if need be, and the battle stiU goes 
on, and all continue fighting as if no officer had fallen. 

The difference between European soldiers and native sepoys, 
is scarcely less than between the respective officers. The na- 
tives become good soldiers, when formed into regiments and in- 
structed in the discipfine of European armies. But effective 
discipline was little known in the armies of India, when the 
Engfish commenced their conquests there. The strength of 
armies was supposed to be in their number. The superiority of 
European armies on account of their discipfine, was obvious in 
the conflicts of the Portuguese, the French and the Dutch, with 
the natives of India. Such conflicts were like those of the 
Greeks with the Persians, or the Romans with the barbarians, or 
the Spaniards with the Mexicans. 

The European armies also as much exceUed the armies of 
India in the superiority of their weapons, as their cannon, their 
muskets, pistols, and swords, as they did in their discipline. In- 
deed, we may say the same of aU the material of war, as pow- 
der, balls, bombs, etc. 

The superiority of the natives of Europe to those of India, 
and aU the southern countries of Asia in aU matters of war, be- 
came obvious as soon as they came into conflict with each 
other. When the European nations began to acquire territory 
and to evince a spirit for conquest, some of the Indian princes 
attempted to introduce European weapons and discipline into 
their armies, and with this view employed such persons as they 
could obtain. For this pm-pose many Europeans, chiefly French, 
were employed by Hyder Ali and his son Tippoo, by the Nizam, 
by Scindia, and by Runjeet Singh. Such officers were some- 
times promoted to high command, and the most severe wars and 
battles the English have had with the native powers of Lidia, 



288 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

were with armies into which European discipline had been 
more or less introduced. Aware of the obstacles and difficul- 
ties which they might encounter from this source, it became a 
principle with the English at an early period of their history in 
India to effect the removal as far as possible of all such officers 
from the armies of the native powers, and to prevent any 
Europeans — except such as they should themselves approve — 
being employed by any native powers. Articles to this effect 
generally made a part of their treaties with native princes. 
Future conquest was in this way made easy. 

2. The government and constitution of the East India Com- 
pany, though comphcated and often slow and cumbersome in 
its operation, is yet well adapted for acquiring and governing 
such a country as India. The governments of Calcutta, Madras, 
and Bombay have generally consisted each of a governor and 
commander-in-chief, (who has always the rank of general in the 
English army,) sent from England, and two councillors who 
have long been in the employment of the East India Company 
in India. The governor in Calcutta is called the governor-gen- 
eral, and the government in Calcutta can assume power over 
the governments in Madras and Bombay, should any emergency 
occur. The governments in India are subject to the Directors 
of the Company, and these are subject to the Ministry, and the 
Ministiy to Parliament ; thus constituting a connection of con- 
trol, responsibility, and restraint beyond the government of any 
country in the world. And not only have the Directors of the 
Company always had respect to ascertained and competent 
quahfications in the appointments of their agency, but when 
any one in their employment has exhibited decided incompe- 
tency, or did not foUow then- instructions and regulations to 
their satisfaction, he was dismissed or displaced, and some other 
one appointed. The Directors have shown great energy, decis- 
ion, and independence in the exercise of their powers and rights 
in the government of India, and among those who have been 
displaced and dismissed by them, are councillors and governors, 
generals and governors-general. In 1844, the Directors of the 
Company in the exercise of reserved rights and without consult- 
ing the Ministry, recalled Lord EUenborough, then governor- 
general, because his administration was not in their view for the 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 

good of India, and though this exercise of their authorit, 
first excited great surprise and incurred for a while much 
sure, yet when all the facts and circumstances became kno 
pubhc opinion generally approved of what they had done. 

Now if we compare the government and agency of the I 
India Company with the emperors, kings, and princes of Lk 
who are absolute and despotic, arbitrary and often uneducate 
generally controlled by their minister or vizier, and other prq 
gate favorites, and surrounded with their corrupt and venal cou . 
we shall at once see that the Enghsh would have great advjr 
tages over the natives in aU matters of war and diplomacy, a 
that the natural and almost necessary result of hostile or offici 
intercourse between them would be conquest, success, and ex£i 
tation on the part of the former, and defeat, submission, and dcji 
radation on the other. 

3. The position of the first places which the English acquirer 
in India, gave them great advantages in their v^ars with the na- 
tive powers, and also for governing the country. Calcutta 
Madras, and Bombay soon became large seaports, always open 
for communication with each other, as well as with every par 
of the sea-coast of India, and with Europe and all the world. 
No native government in India has ever had sufficient naval 
power to contend with the English, or to blockade any of their 
seaports. These cities became the seats of government, and they 
had such facilities for sending military forces to different parts 
of India, as no native power ever possessed. Thus in their 
wars with Hyder Ali,f and Tippoo Sultan, military forces pro- 
ceeded from Madras to invade their dominions on the east side, 
and at the same time from Bombay to invade them on the west 
side. So in the Mahratta wars, forces proceeded into the Mah- 
ratta territories simultaneously from Calcutta, Madras, and 
Bombay. Thus these cities, aU under one government, possessed 
great advantages for carrying on war in aU parts of India, and 
these advantages have been well improved. 

The Enghsh having at aU times the command of the sea, 

* Slievajee, Hyder Ali, and Eunjeet Singh, who were among the most power- 
ful princes of India, could never write or read. 

f So Hyder Ali said, " It is' not what I can see of the English power that I 
dread, but it is what I cannot see that I feaiV 

25 



^j INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

y send troops and military stores to any places on the sea- 
eej where they might be required, or from which they could 
'wjt transported to the scenes of war in the interior. In this 
iH their power in India could soon be concenti'ated upon 
^aparticular spot. The native princes, unable to comprehend 
ii^xtent and sources of the Enghsh power, or to appreciate 
d^elerity of then* movements, were often surprised to find their 
>i?tories invaded where they were not expectmg it, and then to 
rttheu' plans frustrated, their armies defeated, and their forts 
iJtured. And if thek attack on any place failed, their ships 
rije at hand to furnish escape for the army ; and if the forces in 
4 place were no longer necessary, the ships could at once 
^insport them to places where they were required. The armies 
? Bengal, of Madras and the peninsula, and of Bombay, were 
s^ailable for any exigency in almost any part of India, and in 
: manner and to an extent previously unknown and unthought 
'f in Indian warfare. And the great advantages the English have 
"btained from having the command of the sea in their eastern 
vars, have not been limited to India. The sable armies of India 
mder English oiERcers and Enghsh colors have been seen in 
Egypt, in Arabia, in Persia, in Mauritius, in Ceylon, in Burma, 
in Java, in Singapore, and in China. And in the revolutions and 
convulsions and changes yet to take place in the southern coun- 
tries of Asia, even to the Pacific ocean, the native armies of India 
may be expected to be seen fighting under the banners of Eng- 
land, governed by English mind, supported by the revenues of 
India and the southern countries of Asia, and extending the Eng- 
lish possessions tiU they shall include all places which may ap- 
pear to be worth obtaming, or when acquired to be worth keeping. 
4. The state of India when the English commenced their 
conquests and from that time must also be considered. The 
great Mogul empire of Delhi feU to pieces soon after the death 
of Aurungzeb in 1706. At that time the Enghsh possessions 
in India, consisted of only a few small forts or rather fortified 
factories on the sea-shore. It was not till the struggle between 
the Enghsh and the French for ascendency commenced in the 
Carnatic, in 1744, that the East India Company became one of 
the pohtical powers in India. The English never had any war 
with the Mogul emperors, but only with the comparatively petty 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 291 

princes and powers who, upon the breaking up of that great 
empire, succeeded in establishing, or were struggling to establish, 
then- independence in some of its provinces. Thus India had 
become divided into a large number of small governments, and 
no inconsiderable part of it was often in a state of anarchy and 
revolution. The English conquest of India was effected grad- 
ually, and not only by employing the native soldiers or sepoys 
to subject their country to foreigners, but often by joining one 
native power when at war with another, and thus taldng the 
advantage of their dissensions to bring them under foreign 
dominion. 

The peculiar character of the inhabitants of India must be 
considered. It has abeady been mentioned that the East India 
Company found no difficulty in forming regiments of native 
soldiers, instructing them in European discipline, and then em- 
ploying them as they had occasion. The Indian armies have 
always been ready to follow and to fight for those who would 
pay them most. No love of tribe or nation or country, has pre- 
vented them from seeking each one his own interests, so long 
as there was no interference with their customs and superstitions. 
So also in aU other kinds of employment. The English have 
always been able to procure the best native talent in every place 
and in every kind of business, for diplomacy and aU kinds of 
agency for which they might have occasion. It might be nat- 
urally and reasonably expected that such men as the East India 
Company appointed for theu' governors and agents wdth such 
native assistance as they could always procure, would exceed 
the native princes, ignorant, inexperienced, and profligate as 
these often were, and surrounded with depraved favorites and 
corrupt courts. It was as natural that tlie English governors 
and their agents in such cu'cumstances, should exceed the native 
powers and then* agency in diplomacy and all the affairs of gov- 
ernment, as it was that the English officers with their disciplined 
forces should be superior to the native armies in the battle-field. 
And not only have the English always been able to procure the 
best native agency by paying liberally for it, but they have also 
been able to protect aU such agents from any dreaded conse- 
quences of their conduct from the displeasure of their countrymen, 
by furnishing them with places of refuge and of residence in their 



292 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

own territories. Calcutta, Madi-as, Bombay, and some other cit- 
ies have always furnished places of residence where natives of 
all classes could Uve in safety, ease, and luxury, under the pro- 
tection of the government, when their subserviency to the inter- 
ests of the East India Company had made them odious to their 
countrymen, and they could no longer live secm-ely under the 
government of their own prmces. 

5. Resources. The capital of the East India Company was 
increased at different times, according to exigencies and the 
profits of business. Since 1793, the capital has been nominally 
£6,000,000.* The amount, however, which has been actually 
paid into the treasury of the Company for the stock is £7,784,- 
000, some of the last additions having been subscribed at a high 
premium. From 1793 to 1833, private trade was permitted 
between England and India, but it was subject to many restric- 
tions. The trade between England and Cliina continued to be 
a monopoly tiH 1833. Previous to 1833, the resom-ces of the 
Company consisted of the profits of their trade, and the reve- 
nues realized in various ways in India. In 1833, the Company 
ceased to be a trading corporation ; commerce between England 
and India and China became free, and since that time then* rev- 
enues have aU been derived from Lidia. The resources of the 
Company, consisting of the profits of their trade and the reve- 
nues derived &om India, have probably exceeded for nearly a 
century past, the resom-ces of any native power in India. And 
if these revenues of the Company at any time were not suffi- 
cient for the expensive wars in which they were engaged, they 
found no difficulty in obtaining money in the way of loans in 
England, and from their countrymen in India, to any extent 
they required, while the native powers seldom had any credit in 
financial matters among their own subjects, or in any other part 
of the country. A few facts wdU show the resources of the 
Engfish. 

In 1800, the revenue of the Company was $37,972,685. 

* This sum does not show the value of their capital. For many years before 
the late renewal of their charter, the stock fluctuated from 250 to 300 per cent. 
Since the renewal of their charter, it has been from 225 to 250 per cent. So 
their capital, though nominally £6,000,000, has been really in value from 
£15,000,000 to £18,000,000. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 293 

Their cash and property on hand for sale, in India, China, and 
England was $50,155,000, and the amount of their debt was 
$62,921,830. In 1810, the revenue was $82,321,800. Their 
cash and property on hand for sale was estimated at $113,- 
707,710 ; and their debts had increased to $194,383,940. Every 
decade shows an increase of territory, of revenue, and of 
debt. In 1850, the gross revenue of India, all realized in that 
country, is stated to exceed £27,000,000 or about $135,000,000, 
and their debt in England and India is stated to exceed 
£50,000,000 or $250,000,000. As the Company was deprived 
of their exclusive trade with China in 1833, the amount 
of their disposable property had much diminished. But the 
Directors declared that the amount of money in the hands of 
their numerous agents, and the value of their ships, forts, muni- 
tions of war, public buildings, etc., were equal in value to the 
aggregate of their debts ; so that if Parliament refusing to pro- 
long the charter, should take possession of India for the crown, 
the public property of all the different kinds which the English 
nation would acquire, would be equal in value to the amount 
of the debts of the Company which they must by the terms of 
the charter assume. These facts and figures show that the 
resources of the East India Company in their nature, amount, 
and facility of reahzation and application, have been greatly su- 
perior to any native government, or to any combination of the 
native powers with which the English have come in conflict, for 
nearly a century past. 

6. Compensation for services. The salaries of Europeans in 
all high situations in the East India Company's employment 
are large and sufficient to command the first rate of qualifications 
in every department of the government in India. The salary 
of the governor-general since 1773 has been X25,000 ($125,000) 
yearly while his contingent or extra charges have often exceeded 
this sum.* The commander-in-chief of the army has a salary 
of .£18,000. The members of the supreme council in Bengal 
have £9,600 each. The chief justice has £8,000, and the 
puisne judges £6,000 each. The governors of Madras and 
Bombay have £12,000 each. The members, of the councU have 

* In 1850, tlie governor-generars extra expenses amounted to £45,000. 

25* 



294 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

.£6,000 each. The chief justice in each place has £6,000, and 
the puisne judges £5,000 each. These sums show that the 
salaries which the Company gives, are sufficient to procure the 
first rate of qualifications, if money can procure them. True, 
the salaries mentioned belong to high situations, but the remu- 
neration of all who obtain then- appointments from the Court 
of Directors, amounting in the different departments called the 
" Civil, the Clerical, the Medical, the Mihtary, and the Naval 
Services," to 9 or 10,000 commissions, is large. No govern- 
ments in the world give such salaries to their functionaries as 
the East India Company gives to its agents and servants. 
These salaries are sufficient to engage the &-st and most efficient 
talent in England, and the East India Company has been fortu- 
nate in having had many distinguished men in its employment. 
7. The Enghsh government in India has gained much by pur- 
suing a liberal policy towards native princes in allowing them 
pensions and annuities, when in the course of political changes 
they had become reduced in then* cncumstances or involved in 
their affairs. In some instances these annuities have been given 
in consideration of their rehnquishing certain rights and claims, 
though perhaps not m circumstances to enforce them, and so 
what was given them was a matter of discretion and not of 
necessity. For instance, the affahs of some prince have become 
involved and complicated, and it appears uncertain what will be 
the result. The agents of the East Lidia Company offer, if he 
win resign his affairs into their hands, to give liim and perhaps 
his family in perpetuity a large annuity with a secure retreat for 
life, and he at once prefers the certain annuity with a life of 
ease and luxury to the course of uncertainty and danger, and 
perhaps of disgrace and poverty. .In some instances native 
princes have surrendered themselves and their famihes without 
any stipulations, trusting entnely to the generosity of the Eng- 
lish to do what might appear to them to be proper and right. In 
the early part of the British history in India, their governments 
in that country and the Court of Directors in England mani- 
fested a very generous spirit in the provision they made for the 
embarrassed, reduced, and dependent native princes and their 
famihes, and their acts of this character had m^uch effect in ex- 
tending then- influence and power. 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 295 

The East India Company by its original charter in 1600, had 
a monopoly of all the trade between England, and the countries 
and islands of southern Asia. And the Company retained this 
monopoly with some modifications, introduced from time to 
time as the charter was renewed, for nearly 200 years in respect 
to India, and for 233 years in respect to China. It is very re- 
markable that, in such a commercial and m.anufacturing nation 
as the EngHsh, a company of merchants should retain for so 
long a time the monopoly of so large a part of the trade of the 
country. Their retaining this right so long was to be ascribed 
in part to then- great wealth, and the power and influence they 
were able to exert in the councils of the nation. Previous to 
the Reform Bill in 1830, the Company were able always to have 
a large representation of then* number and interest in Parliament. 
They also at different times paid to the English government 
previous to 1812, (as their accounts show,) in consideration of 
their monopoly and protection the large sum of <£ 5,135,319 or 
more than 25,000,000 dollars. The proprietors and agents of the 
Company were also continually bringing much wealth into the 
country which contributed to increase the national resources. 
The English government or the ministry appear often to have 
been wiUing to devolve the complicated affairs of India upon a 
body of men, who would be responsible for its proper govern- 
ment to Parliament, and who could be at any time called on to 
give an account of their proceedings. It "was also seen that the 
Company was frequently engaged in successful wars, and was 
acquiring large possessions which would ultimately belong to 
the English nation, and was doing aU this, too, without adding to 
then' taxes or to their debts.* And for these reasons, though 
they have not all the same comparative force as they formerly 

* The East India Company lias added India to the British foreign possessions 
and made India pay for the conquest of itself, and the expenses of this conquest 
have to a considerable extent been paid to England. " Our wars in India," says 
Dr. Wilson, " though attended with loss of life, as aU wars are, liave not cost our 
nation a single farthing, but have been defrayed from the revenues or credit of 
that country itself. Even when they have been waged In different provinces 
of the land, large advantages of a pecuniary kind have accrued to our nation." 
The numerous European officers and agents employed in these wars and con- 
quests were English. All were well paid, and many of them by salaries and 
other means acquired princely fortunes. 



296 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

had, the same Company still retain possession of Lidia, and 
their charter has been lately extended till 1874. 

In 1793, the dividend of the East Lidia Company was fixed 
by Parliament at 10 1 per cent., and it has still been continued 
at that rate. For nearly a century previous to that period the 
dividend had fluctuated from 5 to 12 per cent., and upon an av- 
erage was about 8 per cent. This is not a high rate when it is 
considered that a part of it was subscribed at the rate of 200 
per cent. ; another 'part of it at 174 per cent, and another 
part of it at 155 per cent., so that for the nominal capital of 
^6,000,000, there was actually paid into the Company's trea- 
sury <£ 7,780,000. But the advantages which the proprietors 
derive from stock, is not limited to their dividends. Through the 
Directors they elect, they have always managed to share among 
them a large part of the patronage or appointments to situations 
in the government of India. 

In considering the course of policy pursued by the English, 
which has resulted in their acquiring in India one of the largest 
empires ever known, there appears much less to censure in the 
Directors and controlling power of the East India Company in 
England than in their agents in India. Increase of territory 
has not generally been the desire of the proprietors or Du-ectors 
of the Company, and in accordance with this view have been 
the general spirit and often the positive character of their in- 
structions to their agents in India. But many of these agents 
have been of a different spirit ; especially has this been true of 
many in the army. Various causes have united to produce and 
keep alive this war-spirit. The spirit of an army is generally 
restive and aggressive. In war the wages of officers and sol- 
diers are much increased. Promotion is more rapid. Honors are 
more abundant and more easily procured. Large spoils under 
the name of prize-money, have often been taken and distributed 
among the officers and soldiers. The conquest of a new terri- 
tory generally creates a large number of lucrative and honorable 
situations, some of which must be filled for a while at least by 
military men. And even when wars were apparently com- 
menced without sufficient reasons, yet if conducted to a success- 
ful termination, the actors would calculate to be commended, 
honored, and well rewarded. Li these chcumstances wars have 



HISTORY — THE EUROPEAN PERIOD. 297 

been sometimes commenced not only without authority from the 
superior powers in England, but in opposition to their known 
spirit and general instructions. Indeed, their first intelligence 
concerning some of the Indian wars, was that hostilities had 
been commenced under the pretence that the case was too 
urgent to admit of delay for obtaimng advice, and then there 
was no alternative but to carry it on. And then it became nec- 
essary for them to vindicate or exculpate their agents, in order 
to sustain their own position and interests before the EngUsh 
nation. 

The governors and other agents of the East India Company 
in India, have often unexpectedly found themselves in circum- 
stances of great difficulty and perplexity. The native govern- 
ments, Mohammedan as well as Hindu, have always been despotic 
in their form, and their princes have often been ignorant, weak- 
minded and capricious, unacquainted with international laws and 
usages, and under the influence of unworthy, depraved, and faith- 
less favorites. The history of Asiatic courts generally consists 
of purposes, plans, and actions of treachery, intrigue, duplicity, 
and venality. Some princes cannot control the agents for whose 
acts according to the laws of nations they are responsible, and 
again they will refuse to fulfil the engagements of their fully 
accredited agents. Hevolutions and sudden changes often occur 
in oriental governments, and the party which comes into power 
will refuse to abide by the engagements of the previous govern- 
ment. Attacks upon the Enghsh and invasions of their terri- 
tory, have been sometimes made, not only without any previous 
declaration of war, but while making, up to the last possible 
day, the strongest assurances of friendship, peace, and good-will. 
A knowledge of the Indian character, of the rulers and the 
inhabitants, and of the circumstances in which the Enghsh have 
often been placed, is necessary in order to a just appreciation 
of many things in their history. If some agents have been 
commended and rewarded when they ought to have been cen- 
sured and punished, others have been censured when acting 
fi-om the best intentions, and doing as well as they possibly 
could in their circumstances. 



PART III. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 



THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 

The East India Company, now the rulers of India, is an 
association of merchants and capitalists incorporated in London 
in 1600, and continued by successive renewals of their charter 
with such modifications as experience suggested down to the 
present time. The capital which constitutes the basis of this 
Company is £6,000,000,* which is divided in transferrable 
shares. The number of proprietors varies as the stock may be 
more or less divided at different times. The proprietors when 
assembled in due form and order for business, is called the 
" Court of Proprietors." In these meetings a proprietor of <£500 
is permitted to speak but not to vote. A proprietor of <£ 1,000 
has one vote; a proprietor of £3,000 has 2 votes; a proprietor 
of .£6,000 has 3 votes, and a proprietor of .£10,000 or more has 
4 votes. The number of proprietors generally exceeds 3,000, 
but as none can vote unless they have £1,000 or more of stock 
and have owned their stock for one year, the voters seldom ex- 
ceed 2,000 and are often much less. Matters of a pecuniary 
nature are sometimes considered and transacted at these meet- 
ings, but their chief business is to elect their Committee of 
management who are called Directors, and to receive the divi- 
dends upon theu' stock. The rate of dividend is fixed by 
Parliament at 101 per cent. The price of the stock in the mar- 
ket for many years previous to the late renewal of the charter, 
varied from 250 to 300 per cent. Since the late renewal of the 

* Some of tlie last additions to this sum were subscribed for or the shares 
were sold at an advanced rate, and the whole amount of money paid into the 
Company's treasury is £7,780,000. The price of this stock for many years pre- 
vious to the late renewal of the charter, fluctuated from 250 to 300 per cent. If 
275 is taken as the average price, the value of the stock, or, in other words, the 
capital of the Company exceeded 80,000,000 dollars. 

(298) 



THE GOVERNMENT OE INDIA. 299 

charter the stock appears to have varied from 225 to 250 per 
cent. The value of this stock depends in part upon the pat- 
ronage, or power of appointing to situations, in the government 
of India, which the proprietors are able to secure through the 
agency of the Dkectors they elect. At the late renewal of the 
charter this patronage was somewhat diminished and variously 
modified, and these changes have reduced the value of the stock. 
The present charter is to continue till 1874. 

The committee of management, or Directors, as fixed by the 
renewed charter, are 18 in number ; of these 12 are elected by 
the proprietors, and 6 are appointed by the Crown or the Minis- 
try. These latter must have resided 10 years or more in India. 
One third of the Directors go out of office every second year, 
but may be reelected or reappointed. The Directors have £500 
salary each, and their chairman and deputy chairman have 
<£ 1,000 each. A proprietor to be eligible for Du-ector must own 
<£ 2,000 of stock. The Directors when convened in due form 
and order for business, is called the " Court of Directors of the 
East India Company." The office of Director has generally 
been valued far more for the power and patronage they enjoy, 
than for the salary they receive. This power and patronage, 
though diminished by the changes made in the charter when 
lately renewed, is still large and very valuable, enabling the 
Directors to secure for their families and for their friends many 
honorable and lucrative situations in India. 

The affairs of such an empire as the Enghsh possessions in 
India now form, are not entirely subject to the East India Com- 
pany. In the latter part of the last century, great complaints 
were made of the governoi's and other agents of the Company 
in India, and an inquiry into these matters in Parliament resulted 
in the creation of a body called " The Board of Commissioners 
for controlling the affairs of India," which has been continued 
to the present time. This body is a department of the English 
government, and is commonly called the " Board of Control for 
India." It consists of 6 members, of whom the first is called 
President of the Board of Control, but he might more properly 
be called the Secretary of State for India, and he is always one 
of the IVIinistry. This Board generally includes 2 or 3 other 
members of the Ministry, and aU must be members of the Privy 
Council. This Board, having a general superintendence of the 



yOO INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

affairs of India, makes the ministry responsible for its govern- 
ment, and so brings India under the control and protection of 
Parliament. 

The appointments to the most important and lucrative situa- 
tions in India, are divided between the Board of Control, that 
is, the Ministry, and the Directors of the Company. The former 
appoint the Judges of the Royal Courts in Calcutta, Madras, 
and Bombay, the Bishops, and the officers of the royal troops 
serving in India. The latter appoint the governor-general and 
the other governors, but they must have the approbation of the 
ministry. They also have the appointment of the members of 
the councils. Previous to the late changes in the charter of the 
Company, the Directors had the appointment of nearly all situ- 
ations in the government of India, but their patronage has been 
recently much diminished. 

For nearly a century previous to the recent changes in the 
government of India, there was a governor-general and council 
in Bengal, a governor and council in Madras, and a governor 
and council in Bombay. The changes made or contemplated 
in the renewed charter are said to be : — The office of governor- 
general and the governments of Madras and of Bombay are to 
continue, a deputy governor to be appointed in Bengal, another 
in Northern India, and perhaps another in Scinde. 

The office of governor-general is one of gi-eat honor, power, 
responsibility, and emolument. It is the highest office under the 
British Sovereign, and is probably the highest delegated power 
and honor in the world. The governor-general and the other 
governors have the most experienced and able men in India 
associated with them for councillors, secretaries, etc. The salary 
of the governor-general is .£25,000 annually, and his extra ex- 
penses, which are charged to the account of India, not unfre- 
quently amount to a larger sum. In 1850, these " extra ex- 
penses " amounted to .£45,000. He resides in any place, or 
moves about the country wherever his presence or his power 
appears to be required. The members of his council have each 
£9,600 annually. The governors of Madras and Bombay have 
each £12,000 annually, and the members of their councils 
£6,000 each. 

The number of persons employed in the government is very 
large. They are divided in 5 classes or departments, namely, 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 301 

" the Civil, the Clerical, the Medical, the Military, and the Na- 
val Services." These all obtain their appointments in England. 
The " Civil Service," or department, is the first in honor and in 
emoluments. The East India .Company has a college at HaUey- 
bury in England for the education of men for this department.* 
All who are admitted into this college are expected, at the close 
of their education, to proceed to India, to be there employed in 
the government. In India, they are under the control of the 
governors and councils. Their rank, office, and salary depend 
partly upon their supposed qualifications, and partly upon se- 
niority in the service. They become governors, ambassadors, 
councillors, secretaries, judges, collectors of the revenue, finan- 
ciers, etc. The number in this department in aU India, is stated 
to be generally about 800. Their emoluments are large, espec- 
ially of those who have been for considerable time in the coun- 
try.f One printed statement says the average salary of this 

* The East India Company, so long as it retained only its commercial charac- 
ter, could easily obtain suitably qualified agents in England. But when the 
Company began its career of conquest, and had foreign possessions to govern, 
agents of different qualifications became necessary. Men were required who 
were competent to be governors, ambassadors, legislators, etc., and who should 
also be well acquainted with the character, languages, and customs of the people, 
among whom they were to fill these responsible situations. The Marquis of 
Wellesley, then governor-general of India, perceiving the wants of the Indian 
government, in 1800 commenced an institution In Calcutta, called the College 
of Fort William, for the education of men for government employment. In 
this coUege, Dr. C. Buchanan, well known for his " Christian Researches in 
Asia," and other works, was vice-provost, and Dr. W. Carey, equally well known 
for his missionary labors, was one of the professors. This college did not meet 
the views of the Directors in England, and so in a few years it was abolished, 
and the college In Haileybury was established. This college has always been a 
favorite institution of the Company, and it has furnished many eminent men. 
Previous to the recent changes In the charter, admission Into this college was in 
the power of the Directors and the Board of Control, but now admission for the 
number annually required is open to general competition, on such examinations 
as are prescribed. It Is expected this change will produce Important results in 
the government of India. 

■\ " On first reaching India, a civilian is allowed about £30 per month, till, 
having passed the necessary examination in one or more of the oriental lan- 
guages, (which must be within 1 2 months after his arrival,) he Is attached to the 
service, the emoluments of which vary from £500 to about £10,000 per anniim. 
The members of council receive £9,600 each per annum In Bengal, and £6,000 
per annum in Madras and Bombay. Civil servants must have 3 years actual 

26 



302 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

class is £1,750 each. Another statement says it exceeds X 2,000 
each; and another says it is <£ 2,250 each. The first statement 
appears to be the average of the fixed salaries of the whole class 
in India. The next appears to be the average of the fised sala- 
ries in Bengal, where they are higher than in the other Presiden- 
cies ; and the last appears to be the average sum which each 
actually receives, and which consists of the salary and sundry 
" extra allowances," which vary with their situation and duties, 
and generally amount to a very considerable sum, in addition to 
the fixed salary. 

residence in India, to liold a situation of over £1,500 per annum, 9 years' resi- 
dence to liold a situation of over £3,000 per annum, and 12 years' residence to 
hold a situation of over £4,000 per annum. No civil servant can receive a 
greater salary than £5,220 per annum, unless he be a governor or member of 
council." 

The following statement from a late number of the Calcutta Kevlew, shows 
the salaries of different situations in Bengal. The salaries are put down in 
rupees, which are the currency of India. A rupee is co mm only reckoned at 2 
shiUino-s sterling, or nearly half a doUar, so that half of these sums wUl be 
nearly the amount of the salaries In doUars. 

» Governor-General of India 250,000 rupees. 

Chief Justice . . . . • ... 83,347 " 

2 Puisne Judges, each 62,510 " 

4 Members of Council, each 96,320 " 

5 Judges of Suddur Dlwany Adawlut, average each . 52,200 " 

2 Members of Suddur Board of Revenue, do. . . 52,200 " 

3 Members of Customs, Salt, and Opium, average each 52,200 " 

4 Political situations, average each .... 50,000 " 

4 Secretaries to government, do 52,200 " 

2 Opium agents, do 42,000 « 

9 Revenue Commissioners, average each . . . 38,000 " 

30 Judges, average each 30,000 

45 Collectors and Magistrates, salaries from . . . 38,000 " 

to 28,000 " 

and 12,000 " 

9 Miscellaneous appointments, varying from . . 28,000 " 

to 15,000 « 
22 Additional Collectors, Joint Magistrates, and Deputy 

Collectors, from . . . . . • 12,000 " 

to 8,400 " 

2 Secretaries of Boards, each 30,000 " 

1 Register 30,000 " 

35 Assistants, at from 6,600 

to 5,000." « 



THE GOVEENMENT OF INDIA. 303 

The Clerical Service, or the ecclesiastical establishment of In- 
dia, consists of 3 bishops (one in Calcutta, one in Madras, and 
one in Bombay), and 120 chaplains of the Church of England; 
and 6 chaplains of the Church of Scotland, namely, 2 in Cal- 
cutta, 2 in Madras, and 2 in Bombay.* The bishops are ap- 
pointed by the Queen or her Ministry. The bishop of Calcutta 
(who has the rank of metropolitan) has a salary of <£ 5,000 
annually, with large allowance for residence, for the expenses of 
visitations, etc., and a pension of ,£1,200 annually after filKng 
his office a certain number of years. The bishops of Madras 
and Bombay have X 2,500 each annually, with allowances for 
diocesan expenses, and retiring pensions of £800 annually. The 
chaplains are divided in 2 classes, seniors and juniors, or chaplains 
and assistant chaplains, and they have salaries varying partly 
according to seniority, and partly according to the place and 
duties assigned to them, from 2,500 to 6 or 7,000 dollars. They 
also receive fees for particular services, and after performing 
duty in India for a certain number of years they have pensions 
for Ufe.f The ecclesiastical establishment originated, and has 
been continued, with special reference to the European, and 
nominally Christian population in the employment of the gov- 
ernment, but other Europeans and Indo-Britons not connected 
with the government share in the attention and labors of the 
chaplains, as there may be occasion. Henry Martyn, whose 
Memoirs have been so much read in America, Daniel Corrie, who 
was the bishop of Madras at the time of his decease, and a few 
others engaged actively in missionary labors, but the chaplains 
generally have not done so, nor is it expected of them. 

The Medical Service or department contains generally about 
800 regularly educated and legally qualified European physi- 
cians. They are divided into 3 or 4 classes, according to senior- 
ity. Their salaries vary according to seniority, rank, and duty 
assigned to them from $1,500 to $10,000 annually. They also 
have liberal pensions after completing certain periods of service.^ 

■* This was the state of the ecclesiastical establishment in the latest accounts 
I have seen. Some changes were expected to follow the renewal of the charter. 

f The pensions of chaplains are: — "After an actual residence in India of 15 
years, £292 per annum; after 10 years, if unable on account of ill-health to re- 
side any longer in India, £173 per annum; and after 7 years, £128 per annum." 

X The pensions of surgeons are : — " After 1 7 years' actual residence and 



304 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Some account of the Military Service will be given under the 
head of the army. 

Bombay is the principal seat of the naval force of the East 
India Company. It consists of a number of saihng ships and 
steam vessels, and performs important service for the government 
in transporting the army, and in protecting the general interests 
of commerce, not only of India, but of the eastern seas, which 
are often infested with pirates. In salaries, pensions, etc.,* it is 
supposed to be upon an equality with the military service. 

ADMINISTRATION OP JUSTICE. 

In each of the cities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, is a 
Supreme Court called the Queen's Com-t, which has jmisdic- 
tion over the incorporated city in each place, and in certain spec- 
ified cases over all the presidency. The court in Calcutta con- 
sists of a chief justice, with a salary of <£ 8,000, and of 2 puisne 
justices, with salaries of <£ 6,000 each. In Madras and Bombay 
the court consists of a chief justice with salaries of <£ 6,000 each, 
and a puisne justice, with salaries of <£ 5,000 each. AH these 
judges have large pensions for life after fiUing their office for a 
specified time in India. In criminal cases the trial is by jury, 
but not in civil cases. The natives are ehgible to be grand and 
petty jurors, and Europeans, Parsees, Mohammedans, and Hin- 
dus may often be seen intermingled in the same jury seats and 
boxes. In these courts, fees as well as salaries are very high ; and 
the expenses of law-proceedings are heavy, and often ruinous to 
the parties. Still the natives generally have much confidence in 
the integrity and uprightness of the judges. 

Agents of the Enghsh government called Residents always 
live in or near the capitals of the large native princes. They are 
expected to keep their government well informed concerning the 
state of afiairs in the territory of the prince, and to transact any 
matters of business that may occur between the governments 
The duties of these agents vary according to the relations of the 

service, £200 per annum; after 21 years, £250; after 25 years, £300; after 29 
years, £365 ; after 32 years, £500; and after 35 years, £700 per annum." 

* " Every officer who lias actually served 22 years or upwards in the Indian 
navy, is permitted to retire from the service with the following pay : — A cap- 
tain, £360 yearly; a commander, £290-; lieutenant, £190; purser, £190." 



THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA. 305 

princes to the English government. Sometimes their power is 
greater than the princes, and they become more like the govern- 
ors of the territory and guardians of the prince and his family 
than the representatives of another government. These agents 
fill situations of much honor and responsibility. They have 
princely salaries, and have often lived in oriental magnificence. 

For the collection and management of the revenue and other 
public matters, and for the administration of justice among the 
native population, the territory of each presidency is divided 
into districts. In each district are two classes of European 
agents ; one class has charge of the collection of the taxes, the 
management of the revenue, public works, etc., and they are 
generally called collectors. Each district has a principal col- 
lector, v/ho has several assistants under him. The revenue is 
generally collected by the native agents and then transferred to 
the Europeans, who examine accounts, hear complaints, etc. 
Each district has a series of courts of 3 or 4 orders. In the 
lower courts the magistrates are natives, and in the higher courts 
they are Europeans. The lawyers or barristers in these courts 
are generally natives, who are admitted to practice in due form. 
Many of the native magistrates and lawyers are well-educated 
and respectable men, and their official and social position gives 
them much influence. Trials by jury have not been introduced 
in these courts. The manner of proceeding resembles the'Eng- 
lish courts more than the former Mohammedan and Hindu 
courts. All the proceedings are in the native languages. The 
intention is that the proceedings should be in the language of 
the parties whose matters are under consideration. The general 
rule in these courts has been to administer Mohammedan law 
among the Mohammedans, as it is contained in their standard 
works and declared by their jurists ; and the principles of Hindu 
law among the Hindus, as it is contained in their own works. 
It must be obvious, from the different forms and kinds of govern- 
ment existing in India previous to the country's becoming sub- 
ject to the English, as well as from the mixed and heterogene- 
ous character of its inhabitants, that the satisfactory administra- 
tion of justice among them, must be a work of great difficulty, 
and very much must depend upon the discretion and conscience 
of the magistrates. The people are very litigious, and in none 

26* 



306 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

of the departments of the government, does then* moral charac- 
ter appear more unfavorable than in these courts. Deception, 
bribery, and perjury are of frequent occurrence. The want of a 
code of civil and criminal laws adapted to all parts of India and 
to all classes of its population, has long been felt and acknowl- 
edged. To supply this want many efforts have been made, and 
great expenses have been incurred. But such a uniform code of 
laws is yet a desideratum. 



THE ARMY. 

The army of the East Lidia Company consists of two parts, 
namely, the European and the Native. The former consists of 
two classes, commonly designated the Queen's troops, and the 
Company's European troops. The Queen's troops consist of a 
certain number of regiments of the regular army of England, 
but employed in India and paid by the East India Company, 
according to such terms as are agreed upon with the EngUsh 
government. This force, according to the latest accounts, con- 
tained 29,480, officers and soldiers included. These regiments 
have the same general character as the British regular army in 
their other foreign possessions. The Company's European 
troops consist of regiments raised in England for employment 
in InSia, and they do not materially differ from the troops of the 
regular army. They amount generally to about 20,000, officers 
included. So the whole European force in India amounts to 
about 50,000 men. 

The native army at the latest accounts amounted to almost 
250,000 men. To these are to be added the contingent troops 
in the native States, ^vhich have European officers, and are sub- 
ject to the Company in the time of war. This force is some- 
what scattered in the territories of different native princes, but 
is estimated to exceed in the aggregate 30,000. So the whole 
military force under the control of the Enghsh in India consid- 
erably exceeds 300,000, This army consists of engineers, artil- 
lery, cavahy, and infantry, aU under EngUsh officers, and kept 
in a highly efficient state. 

The whole number of European officers in Lidia, including 
those who are in charge of the contingent and subsidized forces 



THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA. 307 

in the temtories of the native princes, was lately estimated at 
8,000. These are all subject directly or indirectly to the Eng- 
lish governments in the country. 

The East India Company has a military coUege at Addis- 
combe, a few miles south from London, which was originated 
and is sustained with special reference to the education of offi- 
cers for the engineer and artillery departments of their army in 
India. Previous to the late changes in the Company's charter 
the Court of Directors had the patronage of this college. Ad- 
mission into it is now open to competition upon such examina- 
tions as are prescribed and approved. 

The salaries of officers in the army, though less than in some 
other departments of the public service, are liberal. According 
to an official statement of the salaries of the officers of all ranks, 
and in aU the different departments of the army in India, (reck- 
oning the rupee at two shillings sterling, or half a doUar,) the 
salaries in the European and native infantry will be as foUows : 
a colonel, $7,680 yearly ; Heut-colonel, $5,520 ; major, |3,810 ; 
captain, $2,226 ; lieutenant, $1,344 ; ensign, $1,080. These are 
the salaries in garrisons and cantonments. When in the field, 
their salaries are more. The. salaries of the other departments, 
as engineers, artillery, and cavahy, are generally higher. These 
sums show the lowest rate of fixed salaries. " Many officers 
have staff situations or are employed on special duty, or hold 
places in the civil service, or have 2 or 3 situations in the army. 
Such situations and offices are very numerous and are highly 
paid. By these various means the emoluments which many of 
the officers reahze, are 25, often 50, and not unfrequently 100 
per cent, more than their fixed salaries." 

The terms upon which officers can resign the service and 
receive pensions are also very liberal.* They generally obtain 
their commissions at ages varying from 18 to 22, and generally 
at 40 or 45 years of age, they can obtain a pension which will 

* " All officers who have served in the Indian army for 25 years, including 3 
years for furlough, or 22 years' continual service, may retire on the full pay of 
their rank for life. Officers may also retire on the following pensions without 
reference to rank, if they have served for the undermentioned periods, includ- 
ing a furlough, namely, after 23 years, £l91 per annum; after 27 years, £292; 
aiter 31 years, £365 ; after 35 years, £456 per annum." 



308 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

yield a comfortable support for life, to say nothing of what they 
may have accumulated from their salaries. If any prefer to 
continue in the army for promotion and increase of pay, they 
can do so, and the Indian army contains many officers, 50 and 
60, and more years old. An officer does not generally acquire 
the rank of major before 20 and often 25 years of service. 

The pay of soldiers and non-commissioned officers is smaU, 
but it is such that with their rations, etc., they can generally live 
comfortably. They are all enlisted for a certain period of ser- 
vice, and those who live to see the close of that period, can then 
have pensions for life, and return to England. But many of 
them prefer remaining in the army. 

It was in the great struggle between the English and the 
French for ascendency in the south part of India, that the latter 
are said to have ffi-st brought into the field a battalion of native 
troops, armed and disciplined in the European manner, and com- 
manded by European officers. This was at the siege of Cudda- 
lore in 1746, and so great was the success of the experiment 
that before the close of the year, the English commenced the 
nucleus of their native army, which has been continued to the 
present time, and now contains 250,000 men. Important changes 
have at different times been made in the constitution of this 
army, but its essential features have always been the same ; 
namely, native soldiers,* armed, dressed, and disciphned after 
the European manner, and commanded by Enghsh officers. 
There is a set of native officers in each regiment, generally of as 
many different ranks as exist among the English officers. But 
the pay of these officers is small, and the highest rank, the 
reward generally of 30 or 40 years' service, is much lower than 
the Enghsh ensign who has just joined the regiment. In respect 
to caste, which has so much influence in religious and social 
intercourse among the Hmdus, the English have shown some 
indulgence in the army, to the superstitions and prejudices of the 
natives, and these in turn have yielded somewhat to the wishes 
of their masters and to the exigency of their own circumstances. 
The more important rules of caste pertaining to eating, drink- 
ing, and intermarriage, are carefully observed in the army. 

* Called generally sepoys, the native name of soldiers, to distinguish them 
from the Europeans. 



THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA. 309 

These usages are also regarded in free social intercourse, but 
give way to more important matters when on duty and under 
the immediate inspection and order of their superiors.* When 
on duty their dress is nearly the same in appearance, though 
much inferior in quality, to the English soldiers. When not on 
duty, they wear the ordinary native dress of their caste or class. 
The pay of the native army varies in different parts of the 
country, and also in different departments, the cavahy and artil- 
lery receiving more than the infantry. The wages of a sepoy 
in the infantry does not often exceed 3 or 4 doUars per month. 
A subadar, or captain, a rank not often acquired before 25 or 30 
years' service, receives about 18 or 20 doUars per month ; and a 
subadar major, a rank not attained till 30 or 40 years' service, 
receives rather more than one dollar a day.f The sepoys have 
generally families,|: and after a certain number of years, or when 
incapable of further service, they receive pensions for life. The 
system of pensions is much thought of, and has great influence 
in the native army. Each sepoy hopes to live tiU he can return 
to his native village, or some eUgible place, with an income for 
life for his past services. In oriental countries there is generally 
a strong desire to be employed in the service of the government, 
and the English have no difficulty in forming regiments and ob- 
taining recruits for the army. The regiments are generally 
raised and recruited in one part of the country, and then em- 
ployed in another, and they do not often remain more than 3 
years in the same place. Thus separated from their own peo- 
ple, from their own nation it may be said in respect to most 
of them, and often removed from place to place, they become 
dependent directly upon the government, are a distinct commu- 

* " OIF duty, the Bralimln and Rajpoot will not come Into contact with the 
Shudra, far less will he touch the Pariar or eat of food they have cooked ; but 
on duty they rub shoulders freely one with another, and fight side by side." 

f " Only a small part of the sepoys, probably not more than 1 in 20 or 25 
ever become officers, and the highest native officer's rank, the result of 30 or 40 
years' service, is lower than the English ensign the day he joins the regiment. 
And the pay of the highest native officer is not more than one third, and often 
not more than one fourth as much as the lowest English officer." 

J" Of the 250,000 men composing the native army, there are not probably 
10,000 unmarried.". 



310 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

nity by themselves, form few connections and have little sym- 
pathy in common with the great body of the inhabitants. To 
enlist regiments in Germany and then employ them in Spain, 
or in Holland and then employ them in Italy, or in France and 
then employ them in Russia, would resemble the course generally 
pursued by the English in managing their native army in India. 
The natives of Europe do not differ more from each other in lan- 
guage, rehgion, customs, and manners, than the people of the 
different parts of India differ from each other. The sepoys and 
lowest class of officers in the army of the East India Company 
are better paid, and including the system of pensions, are better 
supported than in the armies of the native princes, while in 
dress, arms, and discipline, they are far superior to any other 
military forces in the southern countries of Asia. 

The native army of the East India Company is not an invit- 
ing field of service or enterprise for the higher and wealthy 
classes of the native population,* and it must always consist of 
the lower and middling classes — not castes^ for poverty often 
compels men of high caste to enter the army. The officers in 
the regular armies of Europe and America generally consist of 
men from the middhng and higher classes, the gentry and no- 
bifity not excepted. What would the American, or the Eng- 
Hsh, or the French army soon become, if constituted like the 
native army of the East Lidia Company, in which aU must 
enter the army as private soldiers, and then serve for some years 

* " No native gentleman ever thinks of putting on the uniform of the regular 
army. It would be marvellous if he did, for length of service furnishes and 
has long furnished the only claim for promotion, and it takes from 20 to 30 years 
to earn the epaulets of a subadar." — " The pay of a sepoy is about five pence 
half-penny a day, out of -which he is obliged to find his linen and the materials 
for keeping his arms and accoutrements in order. It takes him on an average 
from 5 to 7 years to become a naik, or corporal, about 10 more to reach the 
grade of havildar, or serjeant, and 20, or it may be SO in all, to earn his first 
commission, when his pay is raised to Is. 4d. (32 cents) per day. In his turn 
he becomes a subadar, or captain, with pay at the rate of half a crown per 
diem ; and finally if he live, and his constitution does not fail altogether, he may 
become subadar major with 5s. a day. The average age of the native subalterns 
in the East India Company's service has been taken at 45, of the captains at 55, 
and of the subadar majors (the highest rank) at 65, or from that to 70 years of 
age." 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 311 

before they can attain the rank of corporal, and then all promo- 
tion from this step must be in the way of seniority ? And then 
if each regiment must have over it another set of officers, all 
foreigners, 22 in number,* the lowest of whom, a young man 
18 or 20 years old, without any experience in military affairs, is 
yet higher in honor and authority, and receives 3 times larger 
salary than the highest native officer ? Must it not be evident 
that an army thus originated, constituted, and managed, can 
never be a desirable service for any wealthy, well educated, and 
pubKc spirited native man ? And that however efficient such 
an army may be for war, and however ready to fight for those 
who pay them, in their own favorite phrase, " whose salt they 
eat," yet they can have little of those noble sentiments and pat- 
riotic feelings, which constitute the main strength and reliable 
principles of the armies of Europe and America. 

The wars which the English have carried on in India have 
been but little known to the world, when compared with their 
wars in America and in Europe. Yet these wars have often been 
on a great scale, and their history shows many hard fought and 
bloody battles. In the great battle of Waterloo, the English 
loss was 1 in 6 of the force engaged. The following is the 
English loss in some of the battles in their wars in India : — 

In the bat: 



tleof Assaye, 


in 1803, the English 


loss was 1 in 3 of their force 


engaged 


" Dieg, 


" 1804, 






1 in 4J " 




" Mehidpoor, 


" 1817, 






1 in 6 " 




" Seetabaldy, 


" 1817, 






1 in 41 " 




" Coregaum, 


" 1818, 






1 in 3i " 




" Maharajpoor, 


" 1845, 






1 in 6 




" Sutlege, 


« 1846, 






1 in 5 " 




" Cliillianwalla, 


" 1848, 






1 in 7 





These battles were all fought with different native princes of 
the country, who generally led on their own armies, and the 
above figures show a fearful amount of loss on the part of the 
English. If the loss on the other side was greater, as it gener- 
ally was, yet such figures show that India has not been brought 
to its present state of subjection without repeated and severe 
struggles to preserve its independence of foreign control, while 

* " The complement of European officers for a native regiment is 1 Colonel, 
1 Lieut.-Colonel, 1 Major, 5 Captains, 8 Lieutenants, 5 Ensigns, and 1 Surgeon." 



312 INDIA, AKCIENT AND MODERN. 

the large miKtary force which England finds it necessary still to 
support in a highly efficient state, shows that all the inhabitants 
are not satisfied with the government exercised over them. 



EEVENUE. 

The amount of the gross revenue of the East India Company 
in the latest accounts I have seen, were as follows : — Land rev- 
enue, £15,178,676. Excise, etc., =£1,088,254. Opium, X4,562,- 
586. Salt, .£3,289,214. Customs, X 946,561. Stamps, fees, and 
fines, .£593,982. Tobacco, £115,000. Post-Office, mint, etc., 
£1,979,041. In all, £27,753,314. It is stated that when the 
various deductions for the expenses of the collection, the man- 
agement of the different items, etc. were all made, this sum was 
reduced to £23,067,920, which was the amount actually paid 
into the treasury and available for the purposes of government. 

The principal som'ce of revenue in Lidia from remote anti- 
quity has been the tax or rent on the land. It was so when the 
country was divided into several different kingdoms, and the 
Hindus lived under their own sovereigns. It was so when the 
country became subject to the Mohammedans, and the original 
Hindu kingdoms became provinces of the empu-e of Delhi, and 
it has continued to be so since the country became subject to 
the English. In some territories it has been called a tax, and in 
others it has been called a rent, the government being regarded 
as the proprietor, and the occupants as only tenants. This tax 
or rent has varied in different parts of India, and sometimes in 
the same territory according to the pretended exigencies of the 
government and the supposed improvements made in the land. 
In some places it has been one half of the produce, or of the 
supposed value of it ; and in others it has been one thu*d, one 
fourth, one fifth, etc. The general opinion and practice have 
been that the occupants might dispose of then* right in the soil, 
whatever this might be, and that the government might increase 
the tax or rent at pleasure, the occupants of the land for the 
time being, having no assurance or security against any increase, 
and no means of redress when it was exacted from them. And 
when the produce of the land would no longer pay the tax or 
the rent, and for the expense of cultivation, then it might be 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 313 

abandoned or changed into pasture when the tax would be of 
another kind, or according to another rate. 

The course which was pursued in Bengal, and the unhappy- 
consequences to aU classes have been mentioned,* In other 
parts of the country the general practice of the Enghsh has 
been, as district after district canie under their government, to 
continue the system of revenue previously in force till there 
should appear to be sufficient reasons for making changes, and 
these have generally been introduced with care and discretion. 
I am not aware that they have increased the land-tax or rent in 
any part of India, while in some districts it has been diminished. 
In some districts the lands have all been measured, and the tax 
has been fixed for a long period, as 15 or 20 years, during which 
there is to be no increase. This system gives the owner the ad- 
vantage of any improvements he can make. It has thus far 
given much satisfaction to the cultivators, and great advan- 
tages are expected to accrue from it. The land-tax in India has 
generally been very high, and presses heavily upon the agricul- 
tural population. This tax has always produced more than 
half and sometimes as much as three fifths of the entire revenue 
of the government. 

In the accounts given, the amount of revenue realized from 
opium is the next highest, though generally the revenue fronip 
salt has been the second. But they have often been nearly 
alike. This branch of the revenue was scarcely known under 
the native princes. It early became a monopoly of the East 
India Company, and is more fluctuating than any other item. 
In all the territories subject to the English in India, the cultiva- 
tion, manufacture, and trade in opium, is a strict monopoly 
of the government. It can be cultivated and sold freely in the 
territories of the native princes, but as they have no sea-coast, it 
must be transported through the English territory before it can 
be exported, and for this transportation a large transit duty is 
exacted. The foreign trade in opium is carried on chiefly in Cal- 
cutta and Bombay. The export from Calcutta in some years 
has exceeded 40,000 chests of about 140 lbs. each. The export 
fi-om Bombay has generally been about half as large as firom 

* Pages 195-197. 
27 



314 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Calcutta. It is exported by English and native merchants in 
English ships to countries east from India, chiefly to Canton 
and other ports of China. The Chinese laws do not permit 
opium to be produced in the empire, and they forbid its 
importation and use under heavy penalties. The Enghsh 
traders and vessels appear to have paid little or no regard to 
the Chinese laws on this subject since the commencement of 
this century. The vessels and crews engaged in the traffic were 
armed, and the Chinese government found it impossible to sus- 
tain their laws prohibiting the introduction of opium. This 
illegal traffic inflicted great injuries for many years on China, 
and at length led to the war between England and Cliina, 
which was properly designated in Parliament "the Opium 
"War." The Chinese laws all remain unchanged, but they 
durst not enforce them ' for fear of becoming again involved in 
war with England. 

The opiam produced in Lidia and what is exported to 
China, is chiefly used for its exhilarating and stupefying effects. 
It is the worst kind of intoxication. It is an expensive vice, 
and ruinous to body and mind. The habit is easily acquired, 
and then it is incorrigible, at least such is the general opinion. 
The agency of the East India Company and the Enghsh gov- 
ernment in the production and traffic of opium, and in "the 
opium war," have been the subject of much severe but deserved 
censure in India and England. This subject has occupied a 
prominent place in the journals of India, England, and Amer- 
ica. I know of nothing in the history of modern commerce, 
unless it is the slave-trade, more exceptionable in its moral char- 
acter, and the manner in which it is carried on.* 

The manufacture and traffic in salt is also a monopoly of the 
government and yields a large item in the revenue. It has been 
increased at different times, and as it enters largely into the con- 
sumption of all classes of people, the tax is regarded as burden- 
some and oppressive. 

The customs, which are the principal source of revenue in the 
United States, and one of the principal sources generally in civ- 

* Merchants Magazine, vol. 23, pp. 28, and 146. Also a -work on " The 
Opium Trade, including a sketch of its History, Extent, and Effects, as carried 
on in India and China," by Nathan Allen, M. D. 



THE GOVEENMENT OF INDIA. 315 

ilized countries, produces only one twenty-fifth or thirtieth part 
of the revenue in India. The amount of revenue collected by 
the government is not large when compared with the number of 
the people, but when compared with the means of the classes 
who pay a large part of it, the taxes are heavy, and the agricul- 
tural population are generally poor, depressed in sphits, and in 
embarrassed circumstances. 

The East India Company, soon after beginning to acquire 
territory in India, began to contract debts, which were increased 
by the frequent wars in which they were engaged. In 1800, 
their debt amounted to £12,584,366; and their revenue 
amounted to <£ 9,742,947. In 1825, the debt had increased to 
£34,429,682; and the revenue was £20,750,183. In 1850, the 
debt had increased to £50,847,564; and the revenue was £27,- 
753,314. When the charter was renewed in 1853, about half 
the debt was in loans at 5 per cent., and half at 4 per cent. The 
interest is aU payable in India, but much of the debt is owed in 
England. Soon after the charter was renewed, the Company 
began to pay off the 5 per cents, or exchange them for 4 per cents, 
at the Option of the creditors, and in the course of a few months 
all the loans on 5 per cent, amounting to about half the debt 
were paid, or converted into loans at 4 per cent. So great a 
change effected in a few months shows that the East India 
Company must have great pecuniary resources, and that the 
public must have entire confidence in the stability of the Eng- 
lish government in India. 

It should be mentioned that the Company in order to carry 
on their complicated operations of governing so large an empire, 
find it necessary to have a large amount of money in then- treas- 
uries and in the hands of their numerous agents. For many 
years past it is said that this amount has been from £10,000,000 
to £15,000,000. The aggregate amount of their property of 
various lands, as money, ships, public buildings, munitions of 
war, etc., has been estimated to be of more value than their 
debts. 

The largest item in the expenses of the government is for the 
army, which has generally varied from one half to three fifths 
of the whole expenditure. Another large item is the expenses 
of the Company in England. These expenses consist of divi- 



316 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

dends on the stock of the Company,* the interest on bonds or 
debts due in England, pensions of retired officers, etc. For 
some years past the expenses of the Company in England have 
exceeded ,£3,000,000, and they appear likely soon to exceed 
X4,000,000. 

This large smu (from $15,000,000 to $20,000,000) India pays 
annually to England. A part of it has generally been remit- 
ted from India in the way of payments or advances to merchants, 
on the security of goods shipped to England, to be repaid on 
their arrival or sale, but the greater part is obtained in England 
for orders given by the Directors of the Company on their treas- 
uries in India. This is a large sum for a poor country to pay 
annually to a rich one for such purposes.f 

But the sum transmitted from India to England on account 
of the East " India Company is not aU that England derives 
from Lidia. It has been aheady shown that many persons in 
England obtain appointments to situations in the government 
of India, where they receive large salaries. The amomit of 
property accumulated in this way and remitted to England 
wliile in these situations, or when closing their period of employ- 
ment and returning to England, is very large. Many Enghsh 
merchants and adventurers also proceed to India and there estab- 
lish themselves in trade and other kmds of business, for which 

* Tlie capital is £6,000,000, and tlie rate of dividend is fixed by Parliament 
at 10 1-2 per cent. So the annual dividend on the stock of the Company is 
£630,000. This capital is redeemable at the close of its charter in 1874, at the 
rate of £5. 5s. for £100, and provision has been made for its redemption in a 
fund created out of the commercial assets of the Company at the close of their 
monopoly of the China trade in 1833. This fund, called the " Guarantee Fund," 
then consisted of £2,000,000 and is expected to become sufficient by accumu- 
lation to redeem the capital of the Company, so that at the close of the charter, 
the Company may take the accumulated fund for their capital, and Parliament 
assume the possession and government of the empire which the Company has 
acquired. 

f Professor H. II. Wilson, vrho was formerly' many years in India in the 
employment of the East India Company, and is now Professor of the Sanscrit 
language and literature in Oxford University, says, '■ Tliis transfer of so much 
of the revenue of India to England is an exhausting drain upon the resources 
of the country, the issue of which is replaced by no reflux ; it is an extraction 
of the lifeblood from the veins of national industry, whicli no subsequent intro- 
duction of nourishment is furnished to I'estore." 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 317 

the laws in India and commercial regulations between India 
and England are more favorable than for persons from other 
nations. The profits of these various kinds of business are often 
large, and such men almost invariably return to England with 
their "fortunes" in a few years. In these various ways, namely, 
on account of the East India Company, private accumula- 
tions from salaries, and the profits of business, the amount of 
money or property transmitted from India to England, is vari- 
ously estimated at from £6,500,000 to .£8,000,000 yearly.* 
Thus, though the national or general government of England 
receives nothing directly from India, yet the wealth of the nation 
receives a large annual increase in the property which many 
thousand individuals in various ways realize from that country. 

EDUCATION. 

The government educational institutions are under the super- 
intendence of a Board or CouncU of Education in each Presi- 
dency. These institutions are of different kinds. A few of 
them were established at an early period of the English power 
in India for particular classes of people, as the Madrissa, in 
Calcutta, for the Mohammedans, and the Sanscrit colleges in 
Calcutta, Benares, and Poona, for the brahmins. These insti- 
tutions have not produced the residts which were expected, and 
they will probably soon be made places of general education, 
either open for all classes, or will include aU branches of learn- 
ing. Some changes of this character have recently been made 
in them. The colleges and high schools established by the gov- 
ernment within a few years past have generally two depart- 
ments, namely, the Enghsh and Native, or Indian. In the former, 
the English language with its science and literature is taught, 
and in the latter, the vernacular language of the district, with 
the Sanscrit, or the Persian, or the Arabic languages and litera- 
ture, at the option of the scholars. The professors and teachers 
in aU these institutions are appointed and paid by the govern- 

* Dr. J. Wilson, -who lived many years in India, after describing these dif- 
ferent matters says, that from them " about £8,000,000 sterling annually accrue 
to Great Britain." - 

27* 



318 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ment. Some of the scholars are requu-ed to pay a small fee for 
entrance or for tuition, and some of them while pursuing par- 
ticular branches of science and literature, receive some allow- 
ance from the government for their support. The number of 
these institutions in all the different parts of India has become 
large, and is likely to be increased. 

There is probably nothing in which the nations of Europe 
more excel those in Asia than in the knowledge and practice of 
medicine and surgery. In India, these noble departments of 
science have always been much mixed up with superstition, im- 
position, and quackery, which have often caused great misery, 
and not unfrequently the loss of health and of life. To remove 
these evils and to enable the native population to realize the 
benefits to be derived from the present improved state of medi- 
cal and sm-gical knowledge, the English government has estab- 
lished Medical Colleges in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. 
These institutions are under the instruction of able and experi- 
enced English professors, generally selected from the surgeons 
in the service of the government. The instruction in all the 
departments is nearly or quite gratuitous, and the students who 
enter them belong to respectable classes of people. In these 
institutions the peculiar diseases of India, the physical constitu- 
tions and habits of the different classes of the inhabitants, the 
medical skill, so far as there is any, among the hakims or native 
doctors, and the whole materia medica of the country, are made 
the subjects of careful and thorough inquiry and examination. 
These medical colleges will raise up and prepare well-qualified 
physicians for India, which she has never yet had, and so will 
prove of great advantage to aU classes of people. A new era 
of medical science has commenced in India. 

The government supports a large number of vernacular 
schools in the scattered villages. The education in these 
schools is in the common branches of learning, corresponding to 
the common free schools in the United States. They are gen- 
erally under superintendents connected with the Councils of 
Education, and the magistrates of the respective districts. 

The sums appropriated by the government for education have 
been much increased within a few years, and now amount to 
Qearly $500,000 annually. It is expected large additions will 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 319 

be made to the educational institutions under the renewed 
charter. 

Much dissatisfaction has been expressed by some people with 
the government system of education. The expenses of this 
system are defrayed from taxes collected from the native popu- 
lation, who consist of Hindus, Mohammedans, Parsees, and 
other classes of various rehgious sentiments. The Hindus are 
polytheists and idolaters. The Mohammedans believe in only 
one God, and abhor aU idolatry. The Parsees, Jainas, etc., have 
each a different creed. These different classes of people would 
naturally feel unwilling to be taxed for the support of schools in 
which their rehgion was declared to be false, and some system 
which they abhor, was declared to be true, and the duty of aU 
to practise it. It was also supposed that people would be un- 
willing to send their children to schools, in which such principles 
and doctrines concerning their religion made a part of the 
course of education. The government, in view of these facts 
and circumstances, resolved to exclude from their course of edu- 
cation all rehgion, except those moral precepts and general prin- 
ciples in which all classes would concur — thus making the 
course literary, scientific, and moral, but not rehgious. The 
books used in the schools were to contain and the instructors 
employed were to inculcate nothing directly opposed to Chris- 
tianity, or to Hinduism, or to Mohammedanism, or to the relig- 
ion of any considerable body of the native population. Such 
have been the general principles of the government system of 
education. 

This neutral or common ground generally occupied by the 
government has given occasion for dissatisfaction on the part of a 
portion of the Christian community, saying that the government 
being professedly Christian in its principles, ought not thus prac- 
tically to ignore its own faith, where it can exhibit and inculcate 
the truth upon its subjects. But it is not easy to see how the 
government could pursue any other course than has been pur- 
sued, consistently with its professed principles of non-interference 
with the rehgion of the native population. And further, it has 
been the wish of the government to pursue a com'se which 
would excite an interest among the native population, and se- 
cure their cooperation in carrying forward the cause of general 



320 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

education, and also to prepare and publish elementary, literary, 
and scientific works, which would be acceptable and useful. 
And these objects the government could only hope to accom- 
plish by occupying this neutral ground. 

But the government course of education, though it contains 
nothing which is pecuhar to any particular system of religion, 
or which is of a controversial character, yet is exerting a strong 
influence on the native mind, and is producing important results 
in then- religious opinions. This is in part the effect of the 
loiowledge they acquire, thus removing theu' stupidity and 
ignorance, and communicating power to think, compare, reason, 
and judge on religious subjects ; and in part from the principles 
and facts of modern astronomy, history, geography, etc., being 
utterly at variance with the declarations and doctrmes of the 
Hindu Shasters, so that no person who believes in the former 
(and all educated people must believe them), can retain any 
confidence in the latter. The natural consequence of this course 
of education is to produce a spirit of scepticism in respect to all 
rehgion. It destroys aU confidence in Hinduism, and does not 
supply its place with any other religion. This consequence is 
now seen in the refigious or rather irreligious views of a propor- 
tion of the young men, who have been educated in European 
science and literature, in the government institutions. They are 
generally strongly opposed to Christianity, and often ridicule its 
most sacred and solemn truths. They openly avow their scep- 
tical and deistical sentiments, but they have hitherto generally 
conformed to the popular superstitions so far as to avoid perse- 
cution, retain their social position, and to secure and enjoy their 
property-rights. Many of them, however, are very uneasy in 
thek present state, and would gladly seize any opportunity to 
emancipate themselves from the shacldes of caste and the vari- 
ous forms of superstition, which they clearly see have exerted 
such an unhappy influence on the state of their country and the 
character of their nation, but which they have not yet decision 
of purpose and energy of mind sufficient to renounce. But the 
sure and steady progress of knowledge in the native commu- 
nity, the increase of those who are embracing similar opinions, 
increasing independence of mind and self-rehance, and above 
aU, the fight which Christianity is shedding over the country — 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 321 

these causes will erelong produce such a state of feeling and 
thinldng in the educated classes that they will unite in brealdng 
the bondage of the most degrading superstition, which apostate 
and erring men ever conceived, or human natm-e ever endured. 

The government councils of education in the different presi- 
dencies, include among their objects, the preparation and publi- 
cation of suitable books in the vernacular languages for educa- 
tion and general reading. They have done much in the way of 
preparing and publishing dictionaries, grammars, and such Kke 
works, which without then- aid could not have been pubUshed. 
They also encourage translations and original works upon cer- 
tain specified subjects of science and literature. They have 
also always evinced a readiness liberally to reward the authors 
of works of merit on any subject, which would be of advantage 
to the native population. In these ways a very considerable 
number of valuable works have been produced in the different 
vernacular languages within a few years past, and if this course 
is continued, India will soon have a valuable indigenous lit- 
erature. 

From these facts and remarks it must be obvious that the 
course which the government is pursuing in the cause of educa- 
tion in Lidia, is destroying the confidence of the people in their 
own systems of religion, and introducmg speculative scepticism 
and deism. Motives of worldly policy may lead raiost of the 
present generation of educated young men through life to show 
some deference and respect to notions, rites, and ceremonies, 
which they regard as false, unmeaning, and superstitious. Should 
these views pervade the masses of the native population, they 
may be expected to develop their genuine spirit in very painful 
consequences. How far Christianity will in the mean time 
acquire so much power as to hold such evil principles under 
restraint and prevent their full development, remains to be seen. 
Certamly the present state and prospects of the native popula- 
tion of India, as affected by the course of education we have 
been contemplating, present strong reasons for Cluistians to use 
all the means they can to supply such erring men with the holy 
Scriptures and a Christian literature, that through the Divine 
blessing they may be freed from the mazes of scepticism and the 
darloiess of deism, and embrace the truth. 



322 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Since the preceding was written I have seen a despatch from 
the Court of Directors to their governors and agents in India, 
on the subject of education. They have taken up the cause with 
earnestness and appear determined to redeem the pledges and 
to fulfil the promises which were made at the late renewal of 
their charter. Their plan is to establish a university at the seat 
of each Presidency, namely, in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, 
and then in other large cities, if there should be sufficient encour- 
agement. These universities are to have each a chancellor, vice- 
chancellor, and fellows, who are to constitute the senate or con- 
trolling power. " The offices of chancellor and vice-chancellor 
are to be filled by persons of high station, who have shown an 
interest in the cause of education. The senate may include 
natives of India of aU religious persuasions, who have the con- 
fidence of the native communities." The Directors have taken 
the London University as the model of their universities in 
India, only maldng such changes as appear to be necessary to 
adapt them to the state of the country. Of these universities, 
the colleges supported by the government, and missionary high 
schools and seminaries if they have sufficient literary and scien- 
tific character, may become "affiliated institutions, in which 
students, after being matriculated in the universities, may pursue 
their com-se of study till required to repan to the university for 
the final examination for then- degrees." The Directors say : — 

" The examinations for degrees wiU not include any subjects 
connected with religious belief, and the affiliated institutions 
may be under the management of every variety of religious per- 
suasion. As in England, various institutions in immediate con- 
nection mth the Church of England, the Presbyterian College 
at Caermarthen, the Roman Catholic CoUege at Oscutt, the 
Wesleyan College at Sheffield, the Baptist College at Bristol, 
and the Countess of Huntington's College at Cheshunt, are 
among the institutions from which the London University is 
empowered to receive subjects for degrees. So in India, institu- 
tions conducted by all denominations of Christians, Hindus, 
Mohammedans, Parsees, Sikhs, Budhists, Jainas, or any other 
religious persuasions may be affiliated to the universities, if they 
are found to afford the requisite course of study, and can be de- 
pended upon for the certfficates of conduct which wiU be re- 
quired." 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 323 

The number of vernacular schools is also to be largely in- 
creased, and special efforts are to be made to increase the quali- 
fications of the teachers and to improve the manner of in- 
structing, by the establishment of normal schools in different 
parts of the country. The Directors also declare their intention 
to grant aid to private and missionary schools without in 
any way interfering with the religious instruction communicated 
in such schools, if they only impart a good secular education, 
this latter being the object of the government in all its educa- 
tional operations. Schools which receive grants from the gov- 
ernment for support, wHl be inspected by the school inspectors, 
but " they are to take no notice whatever of the rehgious doc- 
trines which may be taught in any school, the duty of the in- 
spectors being confined to ascertaining whether the secular 
knowledge conveyed is such as to entitle it to consideration in 
the distribution of the sum which wiU be applied to grants in 
aid." 

The Directors refer to female education in a manner which 
must surprise the old orthodox Hindus, but which will be grat- 
ifying to many of their sons and daughters. The Directors say : — 

" The importance of female education in India cannot be 
overrated, and we have observed with pleasure the evidence 
wliich is now afforded of an increased desire on the part of 
many of the natives of India to give a good education to their 
daughters. By this means a far greater proportional impulse is 
imparted to the educational and moral tone of the people than 
by the education of men. We have already observed that 
schools for females are included among those to which grants in 
aid may be given, and we cannot refrain from expressing our 
cordial sympathy with the efforts which are being made in this 
direction. Our Governor- General in Council has declared in 
a communication to the government of Bengal that the govern- 
ment ought to give to native female education in India its frank 
and cordial support ; in this we heartily concur, and especially 
approve of the bestowal of marks of honor upon such native 
gentlemen as Bahadur Magaubhai KmTumchund, who de- 
voted 20,000 rupees ($10,000) to the foundation of two native 
female schools in Ahmedabad, as by such means our desire for 
the promotion of female education became generally known." 



324 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

"When the first American missionaries arrived in India, female 
education among the Hindus was unknown, and all their prin- 
ciples and all then- prejudices were decided and strong against 
it. They declared that such education never had been, never 
should be, and never could be. The missionaries of dif- 
ferent societies and denominations showed by their persevering 
efforts that native female education was practicable, and the fe- 
males who were educated, showed that it was deshable. The 
educated and wealthy young men were soon able to appreciate 
its advantages, and began to wish that their sisters and the girls 
to W"hom they had been betrothed by their parents, might be 
educated. In Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, the cause was 
taken up, and Europeans and natives united in supporting and 
encouraging it. And now we see the Com*t of the Directors, 
of the East India Company, the supreme government of India, 
including female schools in the system of education which is to 
receive their patronage, giving it their cordial support, and rec- 
ommending it in the strongest way they can, to all the native 
population. 

The course of policy which the government wiR pursue in 
respect to religion in thek educational operations, is thus de- 
scribed : — 

" Considerable misapprehension appears to exist as to our 
views with respect to religious instruction in the government 
institutions. Those institutions were founded for the benefit of 
the whole population of India, and in order to effect their object, 
it was and is indispensable that the education conveyed in them 
should be exclusively secular. The Bible is, as we understand, 
placed in the Hbraries of the colleges and schools, and the pupils 
are able freely to consult it. This is as it should be ; and more- 
over we have no desire to prevent or to discourage any explana- 
tions, which the pupils may of their own free will ask fi:om their 
masters upon the subject of the Christian reHgion, provided that 
such information be given out of school hours. Such instruc- 
tion being entirely voluntary on both sides, it is necessary in 
order to prevent the slightest suspicion of an intention on our 
part, to make use of the influence of government for the pur- 
pose of proselytism, that no notice shall be taken of it in their 
periodical visits." 



THE GOVEKNMENT OF INDIA. 325 

The Directors also say that education, as certified by exam- 
inations and degrees, will be regarded as an important qualifica- 
tion and recommendation for employment in the service of the 
government of India, and that other qualifications and claims 
being equal, the best educated man will always be preferred. 
K this rule is carefully followed in the government service, it 
will have great influence in promoting the cause of educa- 
tion. 

While the government adheres to its established policy not in 
any way to interfere with the religion of the native population, 
the Christian character of missionary seminaries and the relig- 
ious principles taught in them, are to be no objection to their 
becoming " affiliated institutions of the Universities." This 
places missionary educational institutions upon the same ground 
as the colleges established and supported by the government. 
And further, the vernacular schools, male and female, which are 
established and supported by missionary societies, are placed 
upon the same ground as other schools for receiving " grants in 
aid " towards their support from the government. It remains to 
be seen how far missionary societies will be able to secure ad- 
vantages from this system. The objection sometimes formerly 
made, that the government not only ignored Christianity, but 
purposely excluded it from all parts of its system of education, 
can no longer be made ; for it is placed upon the same basis for 
government patronage and public favor as Hinduism and Mo- 
hammedanism, though the revenues are nearly all paid by peo- 
ple professing these latter forms of religion, and sincerely at- 
* tached to them. An educational system more favorable to the 
promotion of science and literature and to the propagation of 
Christianity cannot reasonably be expected from a government, 
which has a due respect for the rights, and principles, and 
property of its subjects. 

If these plans and pm-poses of the Directors should be fully 
carried into effect by the governors and other agents of the 
Company, it will commence a new era, not only in the cause of 
education, but in the government of the country. 



826 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



PUBLIC WOEKS. 

The land-tax, or rent, as it has often been called, has always 
formed the principal item of revenue in India. And as this 
varied with the estimated productiveness of the land, it has 
been for the interest of the government to make land as produc- 
tive as possible. It was also for the interest of rulers to in- 
crease the resources, population, and power of their respective 
kingdoms, as they had often to defend their dominions and their 
subjects against the encroachments of their unscrupulous neigh- 
bors. The circumstances and opinions of the people of India 
have always been such as to call the attention of their govern- 
ments to such matters. The people have always been too igno- 
rant to devise any public works, and too poor to execute them 
by private means or united capital. They regard aU such mat- 
ters as the proper work of the government, which alone has the 
abihty to execute them, and will derive the principal advantage 
from them. 

The ancient Hindu sovereigns, in accordance with such 
views of their own interests, and of the circumstances and ex- 
pectations of their subjects, constructed roads and bridges to 
facilitate txavel and traffic, and made canals and embankments 
to nrigate lands for cultivation. The remains and the ruins of 
many such works are found in different parts of the country. 
It was lately stated in one of the Indian journals, that in the 
Madras presidency alone, there are 43,000 works for irrigation 
in a state of repair, and more than 10,000 out of repair, all 
which were constructed before the English obtained possession 
of the country. These works greatly increased the fertility and 
resources of the country, and the wealth and happiness of the 
people. They furnish means for carrying on cultivation in 
times of drought, and so prevent sufferings in seasons of 
scarcity and famine, which are frequent on account of the fail- 
ure of the rains in some parts of India. 

Many noble pubhc works were also constructed in the north- 
ern parts of India. Previous to the Mohammedan invasion, 
roads were constructed by the Hindu Rajas between large cities 
with wells of water and caravanserais at convenient distances. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 327 

The Mohammedans, who have been often described as semi- 
barbarians and oppressors, constructed many noble public works. 
Feroze Toghluk, who was emperor of Delhi from a. d. 1351 to 
1388, though engaged in frequent wars, yet found time and 
means to devise and execute numerous public works for the 
benefit of his subjects. The following is a list for the main- 
tenance of which lands were assigned, namely : — "50 dams 
across rivers to promote irrigation ; 40 mosques, 30 colleges, 100 
caravanserais, 30 reservoirs for irrigation, 100 hospitals, 100 pub- 
lic baths, and 150 bridges." * 

Of Acber it is said that " he constructed a series of canal- 
works of greater extent and utility than any previously in exist- 
ence." The canal commonly ascribed to Ali Merdan Khan, 
probably because it was constructed under his superintendence, 
but at the expense of the emperor Shah Jehan, was yet more 
extensive and completed in a superior manner. The eastern 
Jumna or Doab canal, a large work, was also made in the reign 
of the same emperor. These canals were channels of traffic, 
supplied water for cultivating large tracts of land, and furnished 
water for all the common purposes of life in the cities through 
or near which they were carried. In the anarchy wMch ensued 
upon the dissolution of the great Mogul government, consequent 
upon the death of Aurungzeb, many of these works for want 
of repair and preservation, became of little use. 

With such examples of the former governments before them 
and the remains and ruins of such works around them, it does 
appear strange that the English should possess these tenitories 
for more than half a century, and have done so little in the way 
of public works. And it does not appear strange that the native 

* Concerning this list, wMcli is taken from Ferishta, Elphinstone remarks : — 
" The round nmnbers, as well as the amount of some of the items suggest 
doubts of the accuracy of the list, but the works of Feroze, that still remain, 
afford sufficient evidence of the magnitude of his undertakings. The most 
considerable of these is not specified in the list. It is a canal from the point in 
the Jumna, where it leaves the mountains by Carral to Hanse, and to Hissar. 
It reaches to the river Gagar, and in former times was again connected with the 
Sutlege, the nearest of the rivers of the Punjab. It seems to have been in- 
tended for irrigation, but as it has been disused perhaps since the death of Fe- 
roze, we can only judge of it by the part of it restored by the British govern- 
ment, which takes in the whole beyond Hissar, a distance of 200 miles." 



328 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

population, while suffering the consequences of these works 
being out of repair and comparatively of little use, should com- 
plain of the Enghsh government over India ; that the country- 
was governed and its revenues expended too much for the inter- 
est of themselves, the rulers, and too little for the good of the 
people, their subjects. A few years ago this subject of internal 
improvement was taken up by the government, and if the plans 
formed, the promises made, and the pledges given, are all canied 
into effect, they will produce a new era in India. A few good 
roads have been made, and more are in the process of construc- 
tion. If these are continued till the large cities and towns are 
united with each other and then with the seaports, they v/ill be 
of great advantage to the country. 

In the great vaUey of the Ganges, much progress has been 
made within a few years in repairing and improving the old 
canals and in constructing new ones. The entire length of the 
great canal and its branches is 445 miles, and the amount of 
land irrigated by it exceeds 1,000 square miles. The population 
obtaining their subsistence from this land, is estimated at 300,- 
000, and the revenue collected from the irxigated land exceeds 
$450,000 annually, " nearly aU of which is attributed to the use 
of the canal." This canal answers other important purposes 
besides irrigation. The amount of toUs collected on the traffic 
upon it and the rents for water-power to work machinery, are 
large. There are several other canals in the same great valley. 
The aggregate length of aU these canals is 765 miles. The 
amount which the English government has expended in repair- 
ing and constructing them, exceeds 7,500,000 dollars, and the 
revenue from navigation, irrigation, water-power, etc., is estima- 
ted to vary from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 dollars annually. These 
results are not less beneficial to the people than profitable to the 
government, and as there are yet large tracts of land, which can 
be brought into a state of new or improved cultivation by the 
same means, it is expected that internal improvements will be car- 
ried on vigorously for some years to come. 

The government of India was much censured for some years 
in England, as weU as in India, for not undertaking, and not 
sufficiently encouraging the construction of raih-oads. Great 
difficulties were anticipated from the rainy seasons, and from the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 329 

mountains in some districts, and the alluvial nature of the soil 
in others, where the railroads were most needed. After much 
delay, companies were formed and several railroads were pro- 
jected. One of these raihoads commences at Madras, and runs 
westward to Bangalore, wiiere it is expected one branch vdU 
proceed to the western coast of the peninsula, and another pro- 
ceed north into the Deckan, probably there to communicate with 
one leading to Bombay, and another to Calcutta. One is to 
commence at Calcutta and proceed to Delhi, and another is to 
commence at Bombay and proceed to Delhi, and there form a 
junction with the one from Calcutta. From Delhi it is to be 
extended to Lahore in the Punjab. These railroads are now in 
the process of construction, and I saw cars running on one of 
them before I left India. A large part of the capital for con- 
structing these railroads is subscribed in England. The condi- 
tions are such that capital to any amount required can be read- 
ily obtained on the fixed dividend or interest of 4, 4i, and 5 per 
cent., which is guaranteed for 20 years, by the East India Com- 
pany. When these railroads are completed, they will form the 
grandest system of internal improvement ever yet accomplished 
in any country. And they will produce greater results than have 
yet been seen produced by the introduction and extension of 
raih'oads in any part of the world. 

The electric telegraph has been introduced into India, and the 
large cities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, can communicate 
simultaneously with each other, and with the large cities in the 
northern parts of India as far as Attock on the Indus. 

India once supplied Europe and America with cotton goods, 
but her manufactures have been ruined by the use of machinery 
in England. She is capable of producing cotton enough to 
supply aU Europe, but her cotton districts are far from her sea- 
ports, and the means of transportation are slow, difficult, and 
expensive. She has mines of coal of unknown extent, but they 
have hitherto been of little use for want of means to transport 
the coal to the seaports and other places where it has been re- 
quired, and she has been to a great extent dependent upon Eng- 
land for coal for her steam-ships and her machinery. India has 
valuable u'on mines, (the writer once heard a distinguished geol- 
ogist who had been inspecting them say, they contained iron 



330 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

enough to supply the world,) and yet nearly all the iron used in 
the country is procured from Europe, because the iron mines 
are in one province, and the coal is in another, and there have 
been no means for bringing them together. Among her great 
population are several millions, who are often suffering for want 
of employment, and who are ready to work in agriculture, or 
mining, or manufactures, for less wages than are known in any 
country in Europe or America. When the raihoads now in the 
process of construction shall be completed, the people will 
require only the additional aid of machinery to change her cot- 
ton into cloth, and again supply Europe with manufactured 
goods. Her mines of coal, iron, etc., hitherto almost worthless 
and useless, v/ill become of incalculable value and utility. The 
amount of sugar, indigo, grain, etc., produced, will be greatly 
increased, and the natural resources of the country will be 
developed. 

England has yet made no adequate return to India for the 
immense wealth she has drawn from it. Let some of this 
wealth be invested in the public v^^^orks now in progress and 
projected. Let the excessive salaries of the English government 
agents and officers be reduced to a proper standard, and the 
savings be expended on internal improvements.* Let the sur- 

* The Court of Directors previous to the last renewal of the charter, in 1853, 
had the patronage of the government of India chiefly in their hands, and they 
had also the determining of the salaries which the men they appointed should 
have. They appointed the members of their families and their friends, and the 
salaries, though fixed by the Directors, were yet all paid out of the revenues of 
India, and whatever these salaries, or the expenses of India were, no Director 
of the company or proprietor of the stock contributed any part towards them, 
or received any less himself on account of them. These facts will account in 
part for the high salaries in their employment, salaries generally quite beyond 
the value of any services rendered to India, or any qualifications required for the 
duties to be performed. This must be evident from the estimated value of these 
appointments. The Directors were forbidden by severe penalties to receive any 
pecuniary consideration for their patronage, but it was still very valuable, as 
they could bestow it upon the members of their OAvn families and friends, or 
upon those who elected them. It was said by the best authorities on Indian af- 
fairs, that a commission in the Civil Service, when the fortunate possessor em- 
barked for India, was Avorth from £4,000 to £5,000, and that a commission in the 
army was generally worth from £1,000 to £1,200. Eecent changes in.the char 
ter have put the appointments in the most highly paid departments of the gov 



THE GOVEENMENT OF INDIA. 331 

plus and suffering population of India be employed under Eu- 
ropean direction and superintendence. Let the system of edu- 
cation recently promulgated by the government be fully carried 
into effect. Let the laws for securing equal religious liberty and 
protection to aU classes of people be faithfully administered. 
Let the means and facHities now enjoyed for diffusing religious 
knowledge, be continued — and then the English conquest and 
government of India wiU. prove as advantageous to the latter as 
it has hitherto been profitable to the former. 

GOVERNMENT CONNECTION WITH IDOLATRY. 

Much has been said and written concerning the connection 
of the English in India with the Hindu and Mohammedan re- 
ligions, and the Indian governments have been often and se- 
verely censured for their support and patronage of idolatry, su- 
perstition, and false rehgion. The origin and nature of this con- 
nection and supposed patronage of idolatry and superstition 
require some explanation. 

For many centuries Brahminism was the religion of the govern- 
ments and of the great body of the inhabitants of India. During 
this long period many temples were erected and endowed. In 
some instances temples were erected by individuals, who then 
endowed them or procured endowments for them from the gov- 
ernment. In some places temples were erected and endowed by 
the government by appropriating a part of the revenue of the 
district for a while to religious purposes. The permanent endow- 
ments generally consisted of the taxes or rents of certain lands, 
often of villages or districts in whole or in part, for keeping the 
temples in repair and supporting the prescribed rites and cere- 
monies of worship daily and on holidays. These endowments 
were made in form something like a deed,* describing the tem- 

ernment of India (namely, the Civil Service, and the Engineers and Artillery of 
the IMilitary Service) upon the competition of public examinations for admission 
into the college of Haileybury and the nulitary academy at Addiscombe. There is 
therefore now reason to expect that the expenses of the European agency in India 
■will be reduced, and the saving thus effected be expended on internal improve- 
ments. Such a change as this would soon produce great effects in develop- 
ing the' resources of the country, and in improving the state and circumstances 
of the inhabitants. 

* These deeds are generally called sunnuds. I have seen many of them. 



332 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

pie, and the lands and property given to it, and then appointing 
a certain family or families and their descendants to be the 
agents or trustees, to have the charge of the temple and its en- 
dowments, and to carry into effect the purposes for which the 
latter were made. Thus these families became the trustees of 
the temple, and so long as they performed their part, the use or 
income of the endowments belonged to them. These endow- 
ments were often of far more value than the services required in 
return for them. Indeed, one object in giving them often was to 
provide for the liberal and permanent support of the individuals 
and families, to whose management they were intrusted. Thus 
important and valuable personal and property rights became in- 
volved in these endowments. And if there should ever be any 
failure on the part of the trustees or agents to support these 
temples and the prescribed worship in them, then the inhabitants 
of the village, district, or city, for whose use and supposed benefit 
these temples were erected and endowed, could complain to the 
government, and it became the duty of the government to in- 
quire into the matter and to cause the duties for which the en- 
dowments v/ere made, to be performed. 

Another class of endowments consisted of annual or stated 
payments of money from the taxes or revenue of a district to 
certain temples in it. These payments were made at first by 
the orders or formal acts of the government, and if paid for a 
few years in succession, they were considered to be of the nature 
of a permanent endowment. Though the government did not 
generally give any sminud or deed to secure its payment in fu- 
ture, yet the brahmins connected with the temple, and the in- 
habitants of the village, district, or city, always expected it 
would be continued so long as they did nothing to forfeit it. 
Such payments were made to the brahmins who had the charge 
of the temple, and were to be expended for certain specified pur- 
poses. These purposes or objects generally were to keep the 

They are generally engraved on plates of brass or copper, and are often many 
hundred years old. Translations and descriptions of several such plates ai'e to 
be found in the Asiatic Eesearches, and in the Journal of the Itoyal Asiatic So- 
ciety. They generally close with imprecations of the displeasure of the gods 
upon any government or individual, who shall ever in any way interfere with 
the endowments or prevent their object from being carried into effect. 



THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA. 333 

temples in a state of repair, and for the celebration of festivals 
and holidays — works in which the people joined, and so ob- 
tained some equivalent for the money they paid for the ex- 
penses. 

Another class of endowments consisted in a certain sum of 
rnoney, or a certain proportion of the taxes collected in each vil- 
lage, being expended for religious purposes in the village, gener- 
ally for keeping the temples in a state of repair, and for illumi- 
nations and ceremonies on particular occasions. This in many 
places became an established usage, and was regarded as a gov- 
ernment regulation or law. 

There were some circumstances of a peculiar character con- 
nected with some of these temples and sacred places. The 
Mohammedans had estabUshed their power in India several 
centuries before any part of it became subject to the English. 
Their professed object in conquering the country was to destroy 
idolatry and to convert the inhabitants to Islamism. The first 
conquerors were accustomed to demolish the Hindu temples, 
pollute their sacred places, and break then* idols in pieces. But 
after a while their successors became more tolerant and imposed 
taxes on temples and pilgrims, endeavoring in this way to dis- 
com'age idolatry by making it expensive and difficult, and also 
to obtain means for erecting mosques near the temples, and for 
other purposes of revenue. 

And sometimes when a temple had acquired a high character 
and the resort of people to it had become great, the brahmins, 
who had the charge of it, exacted a tax from all the pilgrims for 
their own support and to keep the temple m repair, and pay the 
expenses of illuminations, festivals, etc. In some instances also 
Hindu princes imposed a tax upon temples, or upon pilgrims 
resorting to them, for purposes of revenue. Taxes of this kind 
were collected at Gya, Allahabad, Juggunath, Tripetty, and 
many other places by the Mohammedans or the Hindus, as 
either power happened to be in the possession of the shrines. 
The presents and offerings made to the deities at the great fes- 
tivals were often very valuable. These according to general 
usage, became the property of the officiating brahmins, but dis- 
putes concerning their comparative rights, not unfrequently made 
it necessary for the government agents to interfere and adjust 
matters between them. 



334 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In the progress of their conquest the Enghsh acquired posses- 
sion of the provinces containing these celebrated temples and 
sacred places, and so succeeded to the powers and rights of the 
previous governments. They did not impose any new taxes on 
pilgrims at these temples and sacred places ; they only collected 
such as the previous governments had estabhshed and long col- 
lected. The amount of these taxes varied with the rank and 
caste of the worshippers, the shrines where they wished to wor- 
ship, the ceremonies they wished to perform, the number of days 
they wished to be admitted, etc. These taxes, usages, and cer- 
emonies were adjusted by the artful brahmins, who shared in 
the revenues and collections of the temples, so as to exact as 
much as possible from the deluded pilgrims.* 

What has been said about the Hindu temples, might be applied 
to the mosques, in respect to their origin and the management 
of their endowments. I am not aware that any taxes were 
imposed upon them or exacted from any persons resorting to 
them. 

Such was the state of the temples and mosques in India, 
when the Enghsh acquired possession of the country. The 
EngUsh then became the governing power, but the people all 
retained then- religion, their language, their customs, etc., un- 
changed. The Enghsh in accordance with usage among civil- 
ized nations in such cases, acknowledged the laws and acts of 
the previous governments, especially in matters involving civil 
and personal rights and privileges. For instance, if any foreign 
nation should conquer the United States, such conquest and pos- 
session of the country would not deprive any person or party 
of their property, nor any church or coUege of its endowments, 
or its chartered rights and privileges. So the conquest of India 
by the Enghsh, did not deprive the temples and mosques of their 

* These pilgrim taxes at Tripetty in one year, amounted to $110,000 more 
than the expenses of the temple. They were nearly as large at Gya, and also 
at Pruyag, and very considerable sums were collected at some other temples. 
These taxes are now said to be relinquished, or the management of the temples 
to be intrusted to the natives, so that the East India Company has no direct 
relation to them, has no management of them, and derives no benefit from them. 
The amount which the East India Company realized by taxes at these temples, 
from the time they came under their control and management, till they rehn- 
quished them, exceeded £2,000,000 or nearly $10,000,000. 



THE GOVEENMENT OF INDIA. 335 

endowments, nor exonerate the men intrusted with the manage- 
ment of these endowments from their obligation to use them for 
the objects for which they were originally given. The- English 
government and its agents thought it their duty to enable the 
brahmins in charge of such endowments to collect their revenues 
and rents, and then to compel them to expend such income, or 
so much of it as might be required, for the purposes for which 
the endowments were originally made, and to which they had 
been for centuries appropriated and expended. In some places 
the native governments having long been in a feeble and dis- 
tracted state, the temples were neglected and out of repair, not 
because the people had changed their religion or become indif- 
ferent to it, but because the brahmins either could not collect the 
income of the endowments, or had appropriated it to their own 
use. In such cases the English agents thought it their duty as 
the governing and administrative power, to enforce the rights of 
the brahmins to the endowments, and then their obligations to 
the temples and the people. In carrying out this policy it not 
unfrequently became necessary for the English magisti-ates to 
consider and decide disputes and quarrels between different per- 
sons and parties claiming a right to the management of the tem- 
ples and their endowments, and in some cases the magistrates 
assumed the control and management of such endowments 
and the temples and mosques connected with them, and made 
the arrangements for celebrating their festivals. Thus the Eng- 
lish magistrates became apparently the superintendents and 
managers of these temples and mosques, repairing them, ap- 
pointing priests to officiate in them, fixing and paying their sal- 
aries, paying for illuminations, festivities, ceremonies, etc. These 
expenses were ostensibly paid out of the endowments of the 
temples. But it was said, and probably with some truth, that 
the expenses sometimes exceeded the income of the endowments, 
and that the deficiency was supplied from the government treas- 
ury, while in other cases the expenses for the temples were 
less than the income of the endowments, and that the surplus 
was then paid into the government treasury. Thus in some 
districts the government was supporting idolatry by payments 
directly from its treasury, and in other places it was realizing a 
revenue from the endowments of the temples. And in all such 



336 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

cases this policy of the government in supporting Hinduism and 
Mohammedanism exhibited the appearance of approving and 
sanctioning those systems as true, and their observance as for 
the benefit of their votaries. Many felt, and not without some 
reason, that so long as the English government should pursue 
this course, little good could be expected from any means or 
efforts to introduce Christianity, or to promote civUization, or 
even any reformation of morals and manners. 

In respect to the other kind of endowments, namely, the annual 
payments of money to temples, and allowing a part of the reve- 
nue or taxes of villages to religious purposes, the English, in 
assuming the government of the country, generally continued 
the practice of the native governments that preceded them. 
The people who paid the taxes, regarded themselves as having 
a right from long and established usage to these payments 
for religious purposes. The English government, or the gov- 
ernors in India never ga,ve any pledges, nor made any engage- 
ment or treaty to support Hinduism nor Mohammedanism ; 
yet they were expected, both by the native princes and people, 
to respect the established laws and acts of the previous native 
governments. And when they had once begun the course of 
policy which has been mentioned, then to change it, to refuse 
such aid and support when the people, on their part, had 
given no occasion for any such change, appeared to them to 
be arbitrary and oppressive. 

In this way the English government in India became in- 
volved in the control, management, and support of heathenism 
and Mohammedanism. This course of poHcy was commenced, 
as successive districts and territories became subject to them, by 
their governors and agents, in the exercise of the discretionary 
power intrusted to them. And this course was carried on for 
some years before the Christian public and proprietors of India 
stock in England became aware of its nature and extent. The 
speeches, debates, discussions, and despatches on this subject, 
(especially concerning the temple of Juggunath,) are generally 
known. It was not so easy for the governments in India to 
change their policy and dissolve aU connection with the tem- 
ples and mosques and their endowments, as was generally 
supposed. The Court of Directors were unwilling to take 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 337 

avowed and decisive measures, while some of their agents in 
India were disposed to favor and support Hinduism and Mo- 
hammedanism to an extent quite inconsistent with any due pre- 
ference for Christianity. When this policy of the government 
and state of matters in India became known in England, it ex- 
cited strong dissatisfaction. Earnest and able discussions took 
place among the proprietors of India stock, the Directors of the 
Company, and the Board of Control. Memorials and petitions 
from churches and missionary and other religious societies, 
were sent to Parliament, requesting its interference to prevent 
the continuance of what appeared to be a recommendation and 
approbation of Hinduism and Mohammedanism, and which 
could not be otherwise than a great obstacle to the introduction 
and progress of Christianity. The subject was in various ways 
kept before the Christian public for some years, and it became 
obvious that, whatever might be the opinion of the Directors and 
some of their agents in India, they would be compelled to yield 
to the authority of public opinion. In these discussions and 
debates, Mr. J. Poynder, and Mr. C. Grant, (subsequently Lord 
Glenelg,) took a very active part, and performed services for 
Christianity and benevolence, which wiU long be remembered. 

Peremptory inquiries and instructions were at length sent out 
to India, and the results showed that the government had a more 
intimate and extensive connection with the reHgions of the coun- 
try than had been supposed. It was found that in the presi- 
dency of Madras alone, the government had under its care and 
patronage 8,292 Hindu temples, and that the sums paid to them 
annually, amounted to $400,000. It was also found that the 
fund which had accumulated from the excess of the endowments 
above the expenses of these temples, amounted to $600,000 in 
the government treasury. The result of much inquiry, corre- 
spondence, and discussion, was that $400,000 of this accumula- 
ted fund should be given to promote education, and the remain- 
ing $200,000 to various benevolent and charitable objects ; and 
that the temples and mosques, with all their endowments, 
should be intrusted to the management of committees of the 
inhabitants, where these places of worship are situated. These 
arrangements have in most places been carried into effect, 
and there is no reason to doubt that those who began this work 

29 



338 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. . 

of reform, will carry it on tiU the English government in Lidia 
shall be entirely unconnected with the rehgion of its native sub- 
jects. 

NATIVE PEINCES. 

The native princes yet remaining in India, are of two classes, 
namely, those who receive pensions or annuities for themselves 
and then- families, in consideration of their former power and 
possessions, or of their loss and misfortunes ; and those who 
stm retain some territory and power. 

Oriental princes have always been fond of pageantry, and of 
indulging in habits of capricious extravagance. These tastes and 
habits have generally made their personal and family expenses 
very large. The pensions and annuities given by the East India 
Company to these fallen princes, have commonly been on a 
princely scale, but not unfrequently united with some conditions 
of a humiliating nature, though regarded by the English as 
necessary for the public safety, or for the stability of their own 
power. Some of these conditions are as follow: — Some are re- 
quhed to reside in certain specified cities or districts, and not to 
go out of them. They are not permitted to have any personal 
intercourse nor correspondence with other pensioned * princes, 
nor with any princes still retaining power and territory in India 
or out of India. They are not permitted to have any personal in- 
tercourse or correspondence with any European, except the Eng- 
lish agents of the government. In short, these fallen and deposed 
princes, though retaining their titles, and living in pageantry and 
luxury, are yet kept in circumstances which are painful and hu- 
mihating. Among these pensioners upon the East India Com- 
pany, are the titular Emperor of Delhi the Great Mogul, the Na- 
bobs of Bengal and the Carnatic, the Rajas of Burdwan, Benares, 
Tanjore, and Malabar, the families of the late Peishwa, and of 
Tippoo Sultan, and many others. The amount of pensions and 
annuities given to persons and famihes of this class and charac- 
ter, amount to about |7,000,000 annually. These are generally 
continued to their descendants, but as such families often be- 
come extinct, and some of them forfeit their claims by improper 
conduct, the number of pensioners and the amount paid on 
their account, are yearly diminishing. The very liberal manner 



THE GOVEENMENT OP INDIA. 389 

in which the English in India have provided for this class of 
people, has contributed much to facilitate their conquest of the 
country, and to consolidate their power. 

The native princes and nobles, who yet retain some power 
and territory, are numerous. They are to be found in nearly all 
parts of the country, and their territories vary from a few vil- 
lages to provinces containing several millions of inhabitants. 
These scattered remains of former kingdoms and governments, 
were lately estimated to contain nearly one third of the popula- 
tion of India, or 50,000,000 of people, and rather more than one 
third of the whole territory of India. Some of these princes re- 
tain but little power, their territories being chiefly managed by 
EngHsh agents, while others are nearly independent in their own 
dominions. But none of them are permitted to hold any politi- 
cal intercourse with each other, nor with any nation or power 
out of India. Their relations to the East India Company, now 
the paramount power in the country, vary according to treaties 
and agreements made at different times. Their armies, so far 
as they are permitted to keep any, are commonly more or less 
under the command of English officers, and a certain amount 
of English force is generally stationed in their territories. An 
accredited EngKsh agent generally resides in or near their capi- 
tal. In this way their policy and the state of their territory are 
always well known to the English, who have the means of re- 
straining or deposing them, should there at any time appear to 
be reasons for doing it. The courts of these princes have the 
usual amount of intrigue, treachery, feuds, and profligacy found 
in oriental governments. Hence there is frequent occasion foi 
the interference of the English agents, and such interference 
generally results in loss to the native princes, and the increase 
of the English power. 

Formerly it was the opinion of the leading English statesmen 
in India, that these scattered remains of the former sovereigns 
and princes increased the stability of the English, and so were 
to be perpetuated. But for some years past, it has been the 
policy of the English governors and agents to annex aU such 
territories to their own dominions, as soon as the failure of male 
descendants, or political disturbances, or misgovernment, should 
furnish occasion or excuse for doing it. Formerly it was an 



340 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

established usage or law among Hindus and Mohammedans, 
that if any prince had not any male issue, he could adopt a son, 
and if such adoption was made in the prescribed form and ac- 
companied by certain rehgious rites, then such a son became the 
legal hen- of the honors, titles, and possessions of the family. 
In this way the dynasties of the native princes were perpetua- 
ted. The Enghsh formerly allowed the native princes depen- 
dent upon them, to transmit then power and perpetuate their 
family honors and possessions by adoption. But for some 
years past they have generally refused to aUow this right, and 
when princes and noble famihes have become extinct in the 
direct male line, they have annexed then* possessions to their 
own dominions. In this way, within a few years past, the Eng- 
lish have taken possession of the dominions of several de- 
ceased princes, as of the late Raja of Berar, estimated to con- 
tain 4,000,000 of inhabitants, of the late Raja of Sattara, esti- 
mated to contain 1,000,000, and some others. The remaining 
princes and their famihes have reason also to expect the loss 
of then honors, possessions, and wealth, whenever male heirs 
in the direct line shaU fail. This change of poUcy in the 
Enghsh, of annexing and absorbing the territories of the native 
princes, instead of sustaining, protecting, and perpetuating 
them, which they formerly did, and to which these princes and 
their families have claimed a right, has produced strong ex- 
citement in India, and called forth earnest memorials, appeals, 
and protests. These princes and thek famihes must contem- 
plate this course of pohcy and the consequent prospect be- 
fore them, with feelings of deep anxiety. And many others 
have similar feehngs, who have looked upon these princes and 
their possessions as remaining witnesses of their former nation- 
ahty, and who have cherished some vague hope that thej 
might in some way recover their former power and dignity 
But when they see these dynasties annihilated, or the repre- 
sentatives of them reduced to the state of the common people, 
and no native powers remaining to raise a banner, and no 
territory on which it could be raised and which could be made 
a basis for any pohtical organization, their hopes of any future 
national government vanish, and they feel an increasing sense 
of their conquered, humbled, and dependent state. There are far 



THE GOVEKNMENT OF INDIA. 341 

more and stronger feelings of this nature among the middling 
and higher classes of both Hindus and Mohammedans, than 
Europeans generally suppose. It is not likely there wUl be any 
change in the present poHcy, which has been deliberately adopted 
in India and in England. The prospect is that all the territories 
now in the power of the native princes, will be gradually 
brought under the direct government of the English, and that 
the descendants and representatives of the emperors, kings, na- 
bobs, and nobles of India, will decrease in number and power, 
until they eventually become extinct, or their posterity, if any 
remain, will have no social or civil distinction among the com- 
mon people. 

In a former part of this work some account was given of the 
power and splendor of the emperors of Delhi. This family, de- 
scended from Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, the gi-eat conquer- 
ors of the middle ages and occupying the throne of Delhi 
through a line of powerful sovereigns, (the most powerful then 
in the world,) must be viewed with peculiar feeHngs while they 
continue to be numbered among the princes of India. In 1803, 
Lord Lake took Delhi, which had for some years been in the 
possession of Scindia, one of the Mahratta chiefs. The empe- 
ror (or Grand Mogul as the title of the dynasty was for some 
centuries called) and his family then came under the protection 
of the Enghsh. When Lord Lake first saw him, " he was 
seated under a small tattered canopy, the remnant of his former 
state, his person emaciated by indigence and infirmities, and his 
countenance disfigured by the loss of his eyes, and marked with 
extreme old age and settled melancholy." Since that time the 
emperor has lived under the protection of the English, who set- 
tled upon him and his family an annuity, first of 10, then in- 
creased to 12, and subsequently to 15 lacks of rupees,* with as 
many of the palaces and other royal buildings of his ancestors 
as they have occasion to use, and more (as their state shows) 
than they keep in repair. The following account given by 
Bishop Heber of his interview with the emperor in 1826, shows 

* Bishop Heber's Journal, vol. 2, p. 311. A rupee Is nearly half a dollar, 
and a lack is 100,000; so the annuity or pension of the emperor was 500,000, 
then increased to 600,000, and subsequently to 750,000 dollars yearly. 

29* 



342 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. |^ 

the pageantry and ceremony observed in the court of a fallen 
and dependent prince in India. 

" The 31st of December was fixed for my presentation to the 
emperor, which was appointed for half past eight in the morn- 
ing. Lusliington and Captain Wade also chose to take the 
same opportunity. At eight I went accompanied by Mr. Elliot 
with nearly the same formahties as at Lucknow, except that we 
were on elephants instead of in palanquins, and that the proces- 
sion "was perhaps less splendid and the beggars both less numer- 
ous, and far less vociferous and importunate. We were received 
with presented arms by the troops of the palace, drawn up within 
the barbican, and proceeded still on our elephants, through the 
noblest gateway and vestibule I ever saw. It consists not 
merely of a splendid gothic arch in the centre of the gate-tower, 
but after that of a long vaulted aisle like that of a gothic cathe- 
dral, with a smaU open octagonal court in its centre, all of gran- 
ite, and finely carved with inscriptions from the Koran and with 
flowers. This ended in a ruinous and exceedingly du'ty stable 
yard! where we were received by Captain Grant, as the Mogul's 
officer on guard, and by a number of elderly men with large 
gold-headed canes, the usual ensign of office here, and one of 
which ]Mr. Elliot also carried. We were now told to dismount 
and proceed on foot, a task which the late ram made inconven- 
ient to my gown and cassock and thin shoes, and during which 
we were pestered by a fresh swarm of miserable beggars, the 
wives and children of the table servants. After this we passed 
another richly carved, but ruinous and dirty gateway, where our 
guides withdrawing a canvas screen, called out in a sort of harsh 
chant, " Lo, the Ornament of the World ! Lo, the Asylum of 
the Nations! King of lungs! The Emperor Shah Acber! 
Just, fortunate, victorious ! " We saw in fact a very handsome 
and striking court with low but richly ornamented buildings. 
Opposite to us was a beautiful open pavilion of white marble, 
richly carved, flanked by rose-bushes and fountains, and some 
tapestry and striped curtains hanging in festoons about it, withm 
which was a crowd of people and the poor old descendant of 
Tamerlane seated in the midst of them. ]Mr. EUiot here bowed 
three times very low, in which we followed his example. This 



THE GOVEEKMENT OP INDIA. 343 

ceremony was repeated twice as we advanced up the steps of 
the pavilion, the heralds each time repeating the same expres- 
sions about their master's greatness. We then stood in a row 
on the right hand of the throne, which is- a sort of marble bed- 
stead richly ornamented with gilding, and raised two or tliree 
steps. Mr. Elliot then stepped forward, and with joined hands 
in the usual eastern way announced in a low voice to the empe- 
ror who I was. I then advanced, bowed three times and offered 
a nuzzur of 51 gold mohurs * in an embroidered purse, laid on 
my handkerchief in the way practised by the Baboos (native 
gentlemen) of Calcutta. This was received and laid on one 
side, and I remained standing for a few minutes while the usual 
court questions about my health, my travels, when I left Cal- 
cutta, etc., were asked, I had thus an opportunity of seeing the 
old gentleman more plainly. He has a pale, thin, but handsome 
face, with an aquiline nose and a long white beard. His com- 
plexion is little if at all darker than that of a European. His 
hands are fair and delicate, and he had some valuable looking 
rings upon them. His hands and face were all that I saw of 
him, for the morning being cold, he was so wrapped up in shawls 
that he reminded me extremely of the Druid's head on a Welsh 
half-penny. I then stepped back to my former place, and re- 
turned again with 5 more gold mohurs to make my offering to the 
heir apparent, who stood at his father's left hand, the right being 
occupied by the resident, (i. e. Mr. Elliot, the agent of the 
East India Company). Next, my two companions were intro- 
duced with nearly the same forms, except that their offerings 
were less and that the emperor did not speak to them. 

" The emperor then beckoned to me to come forward, and Mr. 
Elliot told me to take off my hat, which tiU. now remained on my 
head, on which the emperor tied a flimsy turban of brocade 
round my head with his own hands, for which however I paid 
4 gold mohurs more. We were then directed to retire to receive 
our ' Khelats ' (honorary dresses), which the bounty of the 
' Asylum of the World ' had provided for us. I was accord- 
ingly taken into a small private room adjoining the Zennana, 
where I found a handsome flowered caftan edged with fm-, and 

* Nuzzur is a present; a mohur is a gold coin worth 15 rupees, or nearly 7 
1-2 dollars. 



344 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

a pair of common looking shawls, which my servants who had 
the delight of witnessing all this fine show, put on instead of 
my gown, my cassock remaining as before. In this strange 
dress I had to walk back again, having my name announced by 
the criers, as ' Bahadur, Boozoony, Dowlutmund,' etc., to the 
presence (the emperor), where I found my two companions, who 
had not been honored by a private dressing-room, but had their 
Khelats put on them in the gateway of the court. They were, 
I apprehend, still queerer figures than I was, having their hats 
wrapped with scarfs of flowered gauze, and a strange garment 
of gauze, tinsel, and faded ribbons flung over their shoulders 
above their coats. I now again came forward and offered my 
third present to the emperor, being a copy of the Arabic Bible 
and the Hindustanee Common Prayer, handsomely bound in 
blue velvet laced with gold, and wrapped up in a piece of bro- 
cade. He then motioned to me to stoop and he put a string of 
pearls round my neck, and two ghttering but not costly orna- 
ments in the front of my turban, for which I again offered 5 
gold mohurs. It was lastly announced that a horse was wait- 
ing for my acceptance, at which fresh instance of imperial mu- 
nificence, the heralds again made a proclamation of largesse, 
and I again paid 5 gold mohurs. It ended by my taking leave 
with three times three salams, maldng up I think the sum of 
about threescore, and I retired with Mr. EUiot to m.y dressing- 
room, whence I sent to her Majesty (the Queen, as she is gener- 
ally called, though the Empress would be the ancient and more 
proper title) a present of 5 gold mohurs more, and then the em- 
peror's chobdars came eagerly up to know when they should 
come to receive their bukshish (presents). 

" It must not be supposed that this interchange of civifities was 
very expensive, either to his Majesty or me. All the presents 
which he gave, the horse included, though reaUy the handsomest 
which had been seen at the court of Delhi for many years, and 
though the old gentleman evidently intended to be extremely 
civil, were not worth much more than 300 rupees, so that 
he and his famUy gained at least 800 rupees by the morn- 
ing's work, besides what he received from my two compan- 
ions, which was all clear gain, since the Khelats which they 
got in return were only fit for May-day, and niade, I fancy, fi-om 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 345 

the cast off finery of the Begums (princesses). On the other 
hand, since the East India Company have wisely ordered that all 
the presents given by native princes to Europeans, should be dis- 
posed of on the government account, they have liberally at the 
same time taken on themselves the expense of paying the usual 
money nuzzurs made by public men on these occasions. In 
consequence none of my offerings were at my own charge, ex- 
cept the professional and private one of the two books, with 
which as they were unexpected, the Emperor, as I was told, 
was very much pleased. 

" While in the small apartment where I got rid of my shining 
garments, I was struck with its beautiful ornaments. It was 
entirely lined with white marble, inlaid with flowers and leaves 
of green serpentine, lapis lazuK, and blue and red porphyry; 
the flowers were of the best Italian style of workmanship, and 
evidently the labor of an artist of that country. AU, however, 
was desolate, dirty, and forlorn. 

" After putting on my usual dress, we waited a little, tiU 
word was brought us that the ' King of Kings,' ' Shah-in-Shah,' 
had retired to his Zennana ; we then went to the haU of audience 
which 1 had previously seen but imperfectly, from the crowd of 
people and the necessity of attending to the forms which I had 
to go through. It is a very beautiful hall of white marble, open 
on one side to the court of the palace, and on the other to a 
large garden. Its piUars and arches are exquisitely carved, and 
ornamented with gilt and inlaid flowers, and inscriptions in the 
most elaborate Persian character. Round the frieze is the 
motto, recorded, I believe, in LaUa Rookh, 

' If there be an Elysium on earth, 
It is this, it is this.' 

The marble floor, where not covered by carpets, is all inlaid in 
the same beautiful manner, with the little dressing-room I had 
visited. 

" The gardens, which we next visited, are not large, but in their 
way must once have been extremely rich and beautiful. A chan- 
nel of white marble for water, with little fountain pipes of the 
same material, carved like roses, is carried here and there among 
these parterres, and at the end of the terrace is a beautiful oc- 



346 INDIA, A]SrCIE:N"T AND MODERN. 

tagonal pavilion, also of marble, lined with the same Mosaic 
flowers as in the room which I first saw, with a marble fountain 
in the centre and a beautiful bath in a recess on one of its sides. 
We were then taken to the private mosque of the palace, an 
elegant little building also of white marble, and exquisitely- 
carved. "We went last to the ' Dewanee aum,' or hall of pub- 
lic audience, which is in the outer court, and where on cer- 
tain occasions the Great Mogul sat in state, to receive the com- 
pliments or petitions of his subjects. This is also a splendid 
pavilion of marble, not unlike the other hall of audience in form, 
but considerably larger and open on three sides only ; on the 
fourth is a blank waU, covered with the same Mosaic work of 
flowers and leaves, as I have described, and in the centre a 
throne, raised about 10 feet from the ground, with a small plat- 
form of marble in front, where the vizier used to stand to hand 
up petitions to his Majesty." * 



REMARKS ON THE GOVERNMENT OP INDIA. 

The professed policy of the East India Company in their 
government over their Indian subjects, whether Christians or 
Jews or Mohammedans or Hindus, has been neutrality in all 
matters of a religious character. It was also a part of their 
policy to govern each class of people, according to their previous 
laws, and not in any way to interfere with theii religious princi- 
ples, rites, or usages. The laws and usages of some classes are 
very intolerant, and utterly inconsistent with any equitable re- 
ligious toleration and protection. The laws of the Mohamme- 
dan and Hindus do not respect the rights of conscience, nor of 
private judgment in religious matters. If a Mohammedan 
should renounce his religion, their laws enjoin persecution even 
unto death. And if a Hindu should renounce his ancestral 
faith, he is declared to be an outcaste, and then, according to 
Hindu laws, loses all his marital, parental, social, and civil 
rights. He is to be expelled from his house and his home, be 
disowned by his family and his friends, and be deprived of 
every thing which in their view makes life desnable, we may 
almost say, which leaves it endurable. 

*neber's Journal, vol. 2, p. 297-304. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 347 

Here we see that the English in India were placed in peculiar 
circumstances. If they administered the government according 
to the previously existing laws, and any Hindu or Mohamme- 
dan in accordance with the dictates of his conscience, should 
change his reUgion, then he must suffer severe persecution, the 
government enforcing the intolerant and persecuting laws of 
these different religious systems, or quietly allowing the people 
to enforce them. And if the government should change these 
laws, with a view to secure full religious toleration and protec- 
tion to such as should apostatize from their ancestral faith, then 
nineteen twentieths of the people would complain that the 
EngHsh had begun to interfere with their religion, and would 
soon be compelling them to renounce it. It has often been 
loudly and industriously proclaimed, and by many believed, 
though without any evidence, that the English in taking pos- 
session of the country either by treaty with the former princes, 
or by promises and pledges to the inhabitants, had solemnly 
engaged to make no changes whatever in their rehgion, or the 
laws and usages connected with it. Some English persons, 
high in authority, as well as many natives, affected to believe 
that any change in the rehgious laws, or interference with their 
superstitions, would be the signal for insurrection through all 
India, and not unHkely would soon terminate in the expulsion 
of aU Europeans from the country. Such declarations were 
frequently and confidently made in speeches, jom-nals, and 
pamphlets. 

None of the Hindu superstitions have excited more horror 
than the rite of Suttee, and we cannot well conceive of any 
thing which called more urgently for the interference of the 
government. And yet Bengal, the part of India in which this 
horrid rite was the most frequent, and where 700 or 800 wo- 
men were every year burnt alive with the dead bodies of their 
deceased husbands, had been subject to the Enghsh more than 
75 years before they forbid this horrid and inhuman custom. 
And though no insurrection resulted from the prohibition, yet 
the native mind was strongly excited, public meetings were 
called, resolutions were passed, and memorials numerously 
signed were sent to the Governor- General against the law de- 
signed to put an end to this horrid rite. And when it was 



348 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

seen that no means that could be used in India, would avail any 
thing, a large sum of money was subscribed, and an English 
barrister, well known in Calcutta, was sent to England to im- 
plore the interposition of the Parliament to annul the law of the 
Indian government forbidding Suttees. This effort showed the 
disposition of the native population in respect to any legislative 
changes in their religious customs. 

The conquest and government of India by England, a coun- 
try situated at such a distance, not one tenth of its size, and 
contahiing not more than one fifth of its population, form one 
of the most remarkable chapters in the history of the world. 
No nation but the English ever had the moral and intellectual 
power and the pecuniary means of accomplishing such a work, 
and in no country but India could such a work be done. Eng- 
land, by the conquest and government of India, has greatly in- 
creased her wealth and power. And what has been the effect 
upon India? On this subject there are different opinions, as aU 
know who have read the proceedings in Parliament and the 
English journals, as often as the merits of the East India Com- 
pany's government has come under consideration. In some 
respects, the change of India's having become subject to Eng- 
land, is of advantage. There is now general religious toleration 
and protection for all classes of people who live in the English 
territories, a state of freedom or liberty which never existed, and 
which could scarcely be expected ever to exist, certainly not for 
a long time to come, under any native government, Mohamme- 
dan or Hindu. This is certainly a great change, and cannot 
but prove of great advantage in various ways to the country. 
Again there is more security to life and property, better laws 
and better administration of justice under the English govern- 
ment, than there was generally, perhaps better than there ever 
was, under the native governments. The country is preserved 
in a state of more quietness in respect to internal difficulties and 
agitations and to external wars, than it was when under a num- 
ber of separate and independent native governments, or than 
when nearly all India was subject, as it once was, to the em- 
perors of Delhi. 

In the early history of the East Lidia Company, many am- 
ple fortunes were soon acquired in Lidia. Salaries, mercantile 



THE GOVEKNMENT OF INDIA. 349 

adventures, monopolies, presents from native princes for po- 
litical inflaence, and bribes for judicial favor, all contributed to 
enrich the fortune-seekers in India. The East India Company 
also often paid large sums of money from the revenues of India 
to persons and parties for which the public in England and in 
India could see no sufficient reasons. Near the close of the 
last century various laws and regulations were passed by Par- 
liament and the Directors of the Company, restraining the offi- 
cial conduct of the agents, and defining their privileges, rights, 
and duties. These laws reduced the affairs of India to system 
and order, and exacted responsibility from those who adminis- 
tered them. Since the commencement of this century, there 
has seldom been any good reason for complamt of the abuse of 
power or confidence in the European agents of the government. 
Large fortunes are now often accumulated in India, but they 
are the avails of salaries which are large in the service of the 
government, or of legitimate mercantile pursuits in which the 
Enghsh, from their superior knowledge of business and foreign 
commercial connections, have many advantages over the natives. 
The lower and middle classes (if there can be said to be any 
middle class in India), are better satisfied with the English gov- 
ernment than the higher classes. The former are better pro- 
tected than they were under the native governments, whUe they 
are as well rewarded for their labor. Formerly, aU places of 
honor and emoluments were in the hands of the higher classes 
of natives, but now, aU the power and the high situations are in 
the hands of the Enghsh and are fiUed by them. The fixed sal- 
aries and emoluments of office generally, under the native gov- 
ernments were not large, often not so large as some natives now 
obtain in the service of the Enghsh government, but the honor 
and the number of persons employed were much greater. Many 
were employed merely to furnish them with the means of support, 
and to secure then* good-wih and influence. But the pohcy of 
the English is to employ no more natives than are necessary to 
do their work, while the order and system they have introduced 
into all the departments of the government, enable them ta 
accomphsh the same work with far less help. The salary of an 
Enghsh secretary of the government, or a judge, or a collector of 
the revenue, is often sufficient to support 100 native families in 

30 



350 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

respectable style, and this sum, under native governments, would 
be distributed among many families and support them comfort- 
ably and respectably, who now for want of employment are 
often in very straitened circumstances.* 

But while many of the higher classes, who formerly found 
employment and support in connection with their governments, 
and who feel from then" caste, or social position or familjc con- 
nections that they still have a claim for similar favor from 
the present EngUsh government, are dissatisfied because this 
claim is not reahzed, there is a portion of the higher class who 
are more satisfied with the present state of matters and the 
course of the government. This class consists of the wealthy 
merchants, bankers, and those who live upon invested and accu- 
mulated property. These classes are better protected in their 
property and all their rights than they would be under any native 
government. These classes of people live in the large cities, 
chiefly in Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and their suburbs. 
The native governments were often very oppressive to these 
classes of people, not unfrequently exacting heavy and arbitrary 
contributions of money, and sometimes seizing and confiscating 
all their property for some merely pretended reason. No such 
arbitrary oppression and violence have ever been suffered under 
the English government in India, and none are feared. This is 
is a kind of protection, which those can appreciate who enjoy it, 
and as these classes are generally wealthy and intelligent, their 
opinions and influence do much to strengthen the English gov- 
ernment in the country. StUl these classes regard the expenses 
of the government, especially of the European agency, as 
much too high, and urgently requiring reduction. They also 
complain, and not without good reasons for it, that the Enghsh 
government has done but httle to develop the natural resources 
of the country. Yet as they enjoy protection and security of 
life and property, and as the taxes bear more heavily upon the 
agricultural than upon the commercial and wealthy population, 
few of this class of persons would wish to change the Enghsh 
for any native government. 

There has long been much dissatisfaction among the mercan- 

* See pages 300-304. Also Pamphlets on Indian Reform, No. 1 to 6. 



THE GOVERNMENT OE INDIA. 351 

tile and mannfacturing classes in England with the government 
of India for consulting their personal interests, and expending 
the revenues in high salaries, instead of making internal im- 
provements to develop the resources of the country, and so 
increasing its commerce with England. When the renewal of 
the East India Company's charter was coming under the consid- 
eration of Parliament in 1853, an Association called the " India 
Reform Society," was formed, which by pamphlets, speeches, etc., 
endeavored to effect great and important changes in the govern- 
ment of India. Some of these pamphlets contain a list of the 
Association, among whom are the names of 36 members of Par- 
liament, and several of them among the most prominent mem- 
bers of that august body. The charter was renewed with some 
organic changes in its constitution, and many promises respect- 
ing education, canals, raih'oads, and irrigation were made ; 
whether these promises wiU be fulfilled and the expectations 
thus excited will be realized, remains to be seen. 

The question is often asked in this country, — How long will 
India continue to be subject to England? To this inquiry no 
answer can be given. The native kings and princes of India 
having been subdued — some dynasties annihilated and all pros- 
trated — the withdrawal of the English power would leave the 
country in a state of anarchy. But England has yet made no 
adequate return for the immense wealth she has drawn from 
India, and it remains to be seen whether she will ever make any 
such return. At each renewal of the charter of the East 
India Company, (as in 1813, 1833, and 1853,) some changes 
were made in it, which were expected to have an important 
influence on the weU-being of the country. At such times 
pledges were given and promises were made, but complaints soon 
followed that the former were not redeemed, and the latter were not 
fuLfiUed. Still considerable progress or improvement in the gov- 
ernment has been made, and there is now reason for expecting 
that this progress wiU be greater during the period of the present 
charter (which is to continue till 1874), than all that has been 
hitherto made since the English obtained possession of the coun- 
try. These changes, if made, wiU greatly strengthen the con- 
nection between the two countries. As no Ena^lish colonies 
have been or are likely to be formed in India, there can be no 



352 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

people there of European origin, who will desire a separation 
from England. For the mixed classes, partly of European and 
partly of native origin, are not likely to be sufficiently numerous 
to be of any considerable political weight and importance, and 
what influence they have, will be in favor of the EngUsh gov- 
ernment. The army though consisting chiefly of natives, yet is 
not likely to prove unfaithful, if constituted of the same classes 
which now compose it, and treated in future as they have hith- 
erto been. The difference in language, rehgion, and caste will 
long be an obstacle to any organization or cooperation among the 
native population against the Enghsh government. The native 
kings, princes, and nobility are diminishing in number and 
power, and there will soon be none of them remaining to raise 
the standard of war, or to make his territory the rallying ground 
for conflict or for attack. There will be no party which will 
have the pecuniary means or the confidence of their own peo- 
ple enough to originate and sustain any efficient and permanent 
opposition. The diffusion of knowledge and the progTess of 
Christianity will not produce those changes in the character of 
the inhabitants, at least not for a long time, which some people 
confidently expect. Considering all these facts and circum- 
stances, and that England may be expected to be as determined 
in using all her possible policy and power to retain India in per- 
manent subjection, as she formerly was to sustain her power 
over her North American colonies, now the United States — con- 
sidering aU these things, it appears probable that India will be 
subject to England for some generations yet to come. 

The question is also sometimes asked, — Where will be the 
limit of British conquest and power in the East ? The answer 
to this inquiry is yet more in the future — more in the future 
providence of God — than the previous one. A century ago, 
the Enghsh possessions in India consisted of only five or six 
forts for the protection of their trade, and a few square miles 
of territory around them. Now, they are masters of the coun- 
try; their territory contains 100,000,000 inhabitants, and they 
control indirectly, but effectually, 50,000,000 more, who live 
upon the scattered fragments of the Idngdoms of the former 
sovereigns of the country. Nor is the EngUsh power limited to 
India properly so called. They have acquired a large part of 



THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 353 

what was formerly the Burmese empire. And yet further east 
they have Singapore, Penang, Malacca, and Hongkong, which 
are surrounded with nations and tribes who are Ukely soon and 
often to fm-nish occasions for the EngKsh to interfere to secure 
their own rights, or to preserve the balance of power among 
then' neighbors, as is said of their interference in the present war 
between the Turks and Russians. Looking at the history of 
the British power in the southern countries of Asia, and to the 
present state and prospects of those nations, we believe their 
power has not yet there reached its limits. In 1852, they en- 
gaged in a second war with the Burmese, in the course of which 
the Governor- General, unable to effect a satisfactory treaty with 
the Court of Ava, took possession of Pegu, and by proclama- 
tion annexed it to the British possessions with such declarations 
as were expected to bring the war to a close, by inducing the 
Burmese to cease from further hostilities, if they wished to pre- 
serve their national existence. This proclamation, with the 
reasons for it and the pohcy that dictated it, was the subject of 
numerous articles in the EngKsh papers of India. These arti- 
cles doubtless indicated the general sentiment of the English in 
that country, which was that the annexation of Pegu was only 
one step in their progress eastward, and that extension of terri- 
tory, by conquest or annexation or treaty, would continue till 
the Pacific had become their eastern boundary, — that their 
reaching that boundary was merely a question of time, depend- 
ing upon the policy of their governors, and the revolutions and 
changes which were taking place in the intermediate countries. 
The Friend of India, which has always been supposed to in- 
dicate the English sentiment in India more than any other pa- 
per in the country, in its remarks concerning the proclamation 
annexing Pegu, said, — " Every one out of England is now 
ready to acknowledge that the whole of Asia from the Indus to 
the sea of Ochotsk, is destined to become the patrimony of that 
race which the Normans thought sLx centuries ago they had 
finally crushed, but which now stands at the head of European 
civilization. We are placed, it is said, by the mysterious design 
of Providence in command of Asia, and the people of England 
must not lay the flattering unction to their souls that they can 
escape the responsibihty of this lofty and important position by 

30* 



354 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

simply denouncing the means by which England has attained 
it." Whether England is thus to include among her foreign 
possessions " the whole of Asia from the Indus to the sea of 
Ochotsk," comprehending India, China, and aU the intermediate 
countries, and containing more than half of the human race, re- 
m.ains to be aeen. But the present state of England and her 
achievements in India, indicate that she possesses the pecuniary 
and physical means thus to extend her possessions, and also the 
moral and intellectual power then to govern them. And it 
does not now appear so improbable that before the close of this 
century her power will extend over aU these countries and na- 
tions, as it appeared at the beginning of this century that her 
power would by this time reach its present limits. 

In the mean time another great power is beginning to take an 
active part in the politics of Asia. The Afghan war of 1838-42, 
the most severe and unhappy war in which the English were 
ever engaged in India, originated in Russian influence and 
intrigues in central Asia. The results of this policy not corre- 
sponding to her expectations, Russia withdrew her agency from 
the scene, but as was then believed and has since become evident, 
only to renew it in more favorable circumstances. The war in 
which Russia, Turkey, France, and England, are now engaged, 
originated in the aggressive attack made by R.ussia upon Tur- 
key. But no one can doubt that other motives than the defence 
of Turkey have induced England to engage in this conflict. 
England wishes to check the aggressive spirit of Russia, as it is 
likely to affect her possessions in southern Asia. Papers recently 
from India, contam accounts of Russian agency, pecuniary and 
pohtical, again at work in central Asia. And the same papers | 

contain accounts of her interference in the aifaks of China, of 
her having obtained a large territory from its northern part, and it 
appears not unlikely she will take the advantage of the present 
distracted state of that empire to extend her power over a con- 
siderable part of it. It now appears likely that at no distant day, 
the greater part of Asia will be divided between Russia and 
England, each power extending its border till they meet, and no 
one can now say where this will be, or what Asiatic nationa 
will receive their laws from London, and what nations will 
receive them from St. Petersburg. 



PART IV. 

THE EUROPEAN POPULATION. 

The difFerent classes of people in the employment of the gov- 
ernment of India, have been somewhat brought into view in the 
difFerent parts of this work. And these classes, including the 
army and navy, comprise the great body of Europeans in India. 
The European population, unconnected in any way with the 
government, is comparatively small. They live chiefly in the 
cities of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and their suburbs, and are 
merchants, agents, and manufacturers. A few, who are sugar 
and indigo planters, live in the rural districts. It is not 
easy to form any estimate of their number. Sir John Malcohn 
in 1826 said : — " The total number of English in India, not 
in the public service, has been computed at 3,000, of which 
2,000 are given to Bengal, 500 to Madras, and 500 to Bom- 
bay. The calculation is probably beyond the actual numbers, 
including even those in the shipping of the country." * The 
territory subject to the Enghsh in India has been much 
increased since 1826, and the European population, uncon- 
nected with the government, has probably increased in a yet 
faster ratio. Should we suppose this European population 
has doubled since 1826, so as to have become 6,000 or more, 
it is still very small for so great a country, and compared 
with the vast native population, estimated at 150,000,000. 

Should the small number of the European population uncon- 
nected with the government in India appear strange, it must be 
considered in explanation that the exclusive powers and privi- 
leges of the English East India Company from its origm in 
1600 till comparatively a recent period in its history, enabled its 
managers and agents to exclude their countrymen from setthng 
permanently or residing temporarily in any part of their terri- 

* Malcolm's Political History of India, vol. 2, p. 246. 

(355) 



356 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

tories. They early resolved to allow no Europeans, except 
their own agents, to reside in any part of their possessions. 
They were strongly opposed to forming European colonies, or 
to permitting any to be formed in India. And in this policy 
they professed to have the good of their countrymen in view, as 
well as theix own interests. They referred to the state of the col- 
onies of the Portuguese and Dutch on the western and eastern 
coast of Africa, and in the southern countries and islands of Asia, 
as a warning to the English nation to pursue a different course. 
And as the English nation acquhed more knowledge of the 
state and character of the people of India, and more experi- 
ence of the influence of a tropical climate upon the European 
constitution, there was less disposition to form colonies in the 
East, and more concm-rence in the policy of the East India 
Company. 

The restrictions which formerly existed against Europeans 
settling in India, have been gradually much modified if not en- 
tirely removed, but there are natural causes, now better under- 
stood than formerly, which prevent emigration from England to 
India. The climate of India, though not so unhealthy as is 
generally supposed in this country, must yet always be sicldy 
and enervating to Europeans. The chmate of that countiy 
generally is so hot that the European constitution cannot en- 
dure out-door labor, nor indeed physical labor of any kind, so 
much as is necessary for the ordinary avocations of life, in- 
cluding aU classes of people. If the European constitution is 
subjected to ordinary manual labor, and exposed to the ener- 
vating influence of the climate in India, it will suffer a certain 
and sure deterioration. Though this effect may be slow and 
gradual, yet it is an ascertained and settled fact. 

Further, the price of labor of all kinds in India, is so low that 
Europeans can never hold a,ny competition with the natives in 
any kind of work which the latter can perform. And they can 
perform aU Idnds of agricultural and common labor, and if they 
have not the skill of Europeans in some of the mechanical arts, 
stfll they understand and can practise all such arts as well as 
the state of the country, and the taste, the habits, the wants, and 
circumstances of the inhabitants require. The price of common 
labor varies in different parts of India from 6 to 10 cents per 



THE EUROPEAN POPULATION. 357 

day, the laborers finding their own food. And for such wages 
they will work as many hours daily, as hired laborers work 
in this country. And laborers at this low rate are abundant. 
Mechanics have higher wages iii proportion to common laborers, 
than in the United States. StiU their wages everywhere in that 
country are very low. 

Now it must be obvious that Europeans, who are acquainted 
with the nature of the climate of India and with the state of 
labor there, wiU never emigrate to that country to foUow any 
kind of occupation, which the people there understand and can 
perform. So it has been, and so it wiU continue to be ; and so 
there is not now, nor is it likely there ever will be in India any 
self-perpetuating community of English or European popula- 
tion engaged in private business, using their vernacular lan- 
guage, and preserving their own rehgion, customs, and manners.* 
The introduction of raUroads, the establishment of manufac- 
tures, the extension of education, and the spread of Christianity, 
will occasion some increase of European agency for the man- 
agement of such kinds of business. But such agency will not 
materially affect the state and circumstances of the European 
population, who wiU continue in future to sustain the same 
political and social relations to the inhabitants which they 
have hitherto sustained. 

The Europeans in India, though so smaU a part of the popu- 
lation of the country, yet possess much wealth and have great 
influence. Their wealth does not consist so much of property 
(though many of them are rich), as of large and fixed salaries 
with retiring pensions and annuities. Their influence consists 
in then* high political situations, which give them the distribution 
of wealth and power in the appointment to numerous and im- 
portant places in the government service. There has been a 
gradual and steady improvement in the moral character of the 
European population of India since the commencement of the 
present century ; and if many stiU yield to the unhappy influ- 
ence that surrounds them and act unworthy of the Christian 
name and of their nation, there are many others who are exam- 
ples of aR that is lovely in human nature and excellent in the 

* See Appendix, A. 



358 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Christian profession. Among no people of any country can be 
found more hospitality, more Idndness and sympathy, and more 
liberality. At Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and some other 
places, are Bible, Missionary, Educational, Book, Tract, Tem- 
perance, and other rehgious and benevolent Societies, which 
are liberally supported, and which exhibit evidence to the native 
population, of the principles, views, purposes, etc., of the European 
inhabitants. In 1852, it was ascertained that the donations and 
subscriptions from the European population for the support of 
the different missions and the societies immediately connected 
with them, in the previous year amounted to £3-3,500 or more 
than ^160,000. This was certainly a noble testimony to the 
interest they felt for the conversion of the native population to 
Christianity. 

For the European population the government supports an 
Ecclesiastical Establishment, consisting of 3 bishops and 120 
chaplains of the Church of England, and 6 chaplains of the 
Church of Scotland.* The number of chaplains bears a larger 
proportion to the European population, than the number of min- 
isters bears to the population in the United States. But the 
European population in India is so scattered, often only a few 
families living in the same place, that many can have the in- 
structions of a chaplain only a part of the time, and some of 
the smaU civil and military stations are seldom visited by any 
chaplain. This want has been in part supplied by the mission- 
aries of different societies, who have felt it then- duty when they 
found professing Christians Kving without the preaching and 
ordinances of the gospel, to devote some time to them. At 
many of the missionary stations rehgious services are performed 
in the EngUsh language, once or twice every week, and with a 
view to such services Europeans have often contributed lib- 
erally for the erection of mission churches. Religious services 
are sustained in English in more than 70 mission chapels. The 
congregations then consist of Europeans, Indo-Britons, and a 
few natives who have acquired the Enghsh language. These 
labors of missionaries have been much blessed, and have con- 
tributed to produce the present improved state of moral char- 

* See page 303. 



THE EUROPEAN POPULATION. 359 

acter and active piety among the European population of 
India. 

In Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and a few other cities, are 
voluntary Christian societies of Europeans and Indo-Britons 
who have provided their houses of worship and support their 
ministers. These societies are often of different rehgious prin- 
ciples from the chaplains. Some of them are Independents, 
some are Presbyterians, some are Baptists, some are Methodists, 
etc. These churches are generally in close coimection with mis- 
sions of their own denominations ; indeed, they have generally 
had then- origin in connection with the missionary cause. Thus 
they are to be included among the results of the missionary en- 
terprise, and they are now exerting a strong influence in pro- 
moting this cause. 

THE INDO-BRITONS. 

These are a class of people who occupy an intermediate 
place between the European and native population. They are 
the offspring of European fathers and native mothers, and their 
descendants. They have been known by different names as 
Half-caste, Eurasians, Anglo-Indians, and Indo-Britons. This 
last-mentioned name is the one now in general use, and appears 
likely to be perpetuated. Their fathers were of different ranks, 
as civilians, officers, soldiers, etc., and their mothers belonged to 
different classes of the native population. I have known some 
instances of such persons, whose mothers were Mohammedans, 
being educated in that faith, and becoming mingled with the 
Mohammedan population. Instances have been more frequent, 
where their mothers were Roman Catholics, of their being edu- 
cated in that religion, and mingling with that class of the native 
population. But they have generally been brought up in the 
Protestant religion, and been educated in the English language 
and in Enghsh habits. They regard themselves as forming a 
branch of the European population of the country. They have 
the advantage of Europeans in being acquainted with the ver- 
nacular languages, and in having constitutions more adapted to 
the climate of the country, but they are generally deficient in 
education and energy of character. Some among them have 



360 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

acquired wealth, influence, and respectability. It would be diffi- 
cult to form any estimate of their number. They have shared 
largely in the instructions of missionaries, as they have often 
been in circumstances deserving special sympathy and attention. 
Many of them are respectable in character and social position, 
and some are usefully employed in the missionary work. 
Many of them are in the employment of the government. 
They are also merchants, agents, shop-keepers, clerks, etc. The 
result of many inquiries lately made concerning them by the 
Committees of Parliament on the state of India, when the re- 
newal of the East India Company's charter was under consid- 
eration, did not exhibit them in respect to numbers, increase, 
character, and influence, and the prospect of their ever acting 
any prominent part in the affans of the country, in so favorable 
a light as was expected. 



PART V. 
THE NATIVE POPULATION. 



THE FIRST RELIGION OF INDIA. 

The religion of the first inhabitants of India consisted in the 
worship of local deities, some supposed to be benevolent, and 
some malevolent. They were originally supposed to be spirits 
of deceased persons, who still retaining the feelings they had 
when alive, haunted the places of their former residence, and 
gratified the feelings they still retained, or the feelings excited 
.by what they heard and saw. They were believed to have 
the power of assisting their friends and of injuring their ene- 
mies. Thus able to interfere at pleasure in human affairs, they 
became objects of great anxiety. Eude images and symbols of 
them were set up in particular places, sometimes in small rudely 
constructed temples and under green trees, and prayers and 
offerings were made to them. The worship of them partook 
more of fear and dread of evil, than of hope and expectation of 
good from them. To these beings the people ascribed acci- 
dents, misfortunes, afflictions, and diseases, and so they resorted 
to various means to propitiate them, and to secure their favor. 
They gave offerings of food, and made sacrifices of fowls and 
animals. They sometimes offered human victims in sacrifice, 
and parents in the fear of losing all their children in times of 
sickness, would sometimes devote one of them to some of the 
malevolent demons. And people would sometimes inflict tor- 
tures upon themselves, in the hope of appeasing these malevo- 
lent beings, or of exciting their compassion. 

The authority for these opinions and rites, appears to have 
depended on traditions and local usages ; for if they had any 
sacred books, none have come down to the present time, and 
none are mentioned in history. There was no hereditary priest- 
Si (361) 



a62 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

hoodj but there were persons who, pretending to witchcraft, 
sorcery, and necromancy, acquired great influence in religious 
matters. These persons professed to have intercourse and influ- 
ence with these supposed deities and demons, and they gen- 
erally officiated in religious rites, especially on important occa- 
sions. The Bheels of Central India, the Coolees of Gujerat, 
the Goands of Berar, the Santals of Orissa, and the Shanars, 
and other tribes in the peninsula, are apparently the remains 
of these ancient inhabitants, and they retain among them 
many of their opinions and rites, the same as then* ancestors 
had 3,000 years ago. The religion of these classes has but 
little affinity with the system commonly called brahminism. 
Among some of them the brahmins have never been acknowl- 
edged in their religious character, and have never become the 
officiating priests. And in many districts where brahminism is 
the commonly received system of religion, the places of wor- 
ship and pilgrimage, the deities, rites, and ceremonies, are of a 
mixed character, clearly showing that the brahminical system. 
in its progress, incorporated with itself many of the previously 
estabhshed local superstitions. 

When any of these local deities were found to have a 
strong hold on the feelings of the people, they were declared 
or assumed to belong to the almost infinite number of the 
Hindu gods, and supplemental sections were added to some 
chapter in the Purans containing the popular legends concern- 
ing them, and thus authorizing their worship. Thus, as brah- 
minism enlarged its borders and increased its votaries, it also 
increased the names and number of its recognized deities. 
And the system was well adapted to increase in this way, 
as the sacred books do not contain the names of a thousandth 
part of then' gods, any one of whom, if he has revealed him- 
self, becomes a proper object of worship. It is in part owing 
to this mixed origin, that brahminism is so different in its 
usages and ceremonies in different districts in India. 

The first inhabitants of India, in their religious state and 
character, much resembled the aborigines of America and 
Africa, and the ancient inhabitants of Europe in a similar 
state of civilization. Their gods were local deities, originally 
the supposed sphits of deceased persons haunting the abodes 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 363 

of their former residence, still retaining the feeKngs they for- 
merly hPcd, or experiencing in view of what they might see, 
similar feelings to what they would have had, if still living, 
and having power, more or less, to gratify these feelings. In 
all their worship, their prayers, their offerings, their sacrifices 
and rites, superstitious fear and dread appear to have been the 
principal motives of the people, and hypocrisy and fanaticism 
appear to have formed the character of those who professed to be 
spiritual guides, and who officiated in their religious rites. 

ERAHMINISM — THE VEDAS. 

There are no means of ascertaining at what period the sys- 
tem of religion, commonly caUed Brahminism, was introduced 
into India. It appears to have been, the rehgion of a nation 
or people who invaded the country from the north-west, and 
established then* government along the banks of the Jumna 
and the Ganges, as early as 1300 or 1400 years before the 
commencement of the Christian era. The books containing 
their religion at that time, are called the Vedas. Of these there 
are commonly reckoned 4, namely, the Rig, the Yajur, the 
Sama, and the Artharva. The Hindus believe that these books 
(the language of them) came directly from the mouth of Brahm, 
or the infinite Spirit, and that they were infallibly pre- 
served by tradition till put into the state in which they now 
are. Their present order and arrangement are ascribed to 
a sage of great celebrity, called Vyas, and sometimes Ved- 
Vyas, on account of this work. An analysis of their con- 
tents shows that they were compiled by different men, and at 
different times. There are no means of ascertaining when 
this compilation was made, but it is the general opinion of 
orientalists who have investigated this subject with great 
care, that they were put into their present state 1300 or 1400 
years before the Christian era. They are VvTritten in the an- 
cient style of the Sanscrit language, differing so much from 
the later or common Sanscrit, that only a small part of the 
educated brahmins can read them intelligibly. Each Veda 
consists of two parts ; the fii-st part is called the Sanhita, and 
consists of prayers, hymns, invocations, rites, ceremonies, etc., 



364 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

to be used in offering oblations, and performing sacrifices.* 
These prayers and hymns in the same Veda often differ but 
'little from each other. And the same hymns with but little 
variation are found in the different Vedas. The second part 
is called Brahmana, and treats of the first cause, of the crea- 
tion of the world and its inhabitants, moral precepts, rehgious 
duties, rewards, punishments, festivals, purifications, castes, cer- 
emonies at bu-ths, deaths, etc. 

These books have always been held in great veneration. In 
the early age of India, it was a part of the prescribed duty of 
the three highest castes to read the Vedas, but the fourth or low- 
est caste, including the great body of the people, were not 
allowed to read them, or to possess them, or to hear them 
read. If a shudra should read them, or hear them read, or 

* The following is a translation of tlie first hymn of the Kig Veda. It was de- 
signed to be used in offering sacrifices to Agni, the god who presides over fire, 
and who manifests himself by it. Agni is also one of the names of fire, which, in 
the mystical and pantheistical notion of the Hindus, is sometimes worshipped, as 
the symbol of the god ; so that in their worship the god and the element ap- 
pear to be confounded together. 

" I praise Agni, (the god of fire,) the high-priest of the sacrifice, the all re- 
splendent, the conductor of the sacrificial rites, the chanter of the invocation 
hymns, and the chief holder of the precious gifts (that reward the sacrificers). 

'' Agni, when praised by the sages of ancient times, assembled the gods, and 
now when praised by us the modern sages, he will assemble them to our sacri- 
fice. 

" By means of Agni, the sacrificer obtains without faU, daily increasing wealth, 
and the fame connected with an army of heroes. 

" O Agni, whenever a sacrifice proves fortunate, it is because thou art there 
to be the guardian on every side ; also thou goest on high to convey it to the 
gods. 

" Agni is the chanter of the invocation hymns, and the director of the sacri- 
fice ; he is faithful and possesses all possible renown ; himself a god, let him 
now accompany the gods. 

" O Agni, whatever benefits thou conferrest on the offerer, these will turn to 
thy own advantage ; of this be assured, O god of fire. 

" O Agni, daily, yea day and night, do we approach thee with reverential awe, 
prostrating ourselves in thy presence. 

" We approach thee who llamest over the sacrifices, the preserver of truth, 
the grand illuminator, and who growest great in thy own sacred recess by our 
offerings. 

" Cherish us, Agni, as a father doth his children, and be with us to keep us 
in safety." 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 365 

should commit any part of them to memory, or perform any 
rite or ceremony contained in them, the king or magistrate 
was directed immediately to put such a man to death. In 
modern tunes the brahmins have been the depositaries of these 
sacred books. And so faithful were they to their trust and so 
cautious in their conduct, that it was not without great diffi- 
culty and much expense, Europeans could procure them. But 
copies of them are now to be found in pubhc libraries in India 
and Europe, and translations are in the course of being made 
and pubhshed under the patronage of the East India Com- 
pany. 

There is a class of works caUed Upanishads, which contain 
extracts of certain portions of the Vedas, and commentaries upon 
the doctrines of theology contained in them. Of these ex- 
tracts and treatises, there are said to be 52. Some of them are 
short. They are designed to exhibit, explain, and defend the 
doctrines of the Vedas. There is also a class of works called 
Upa- Vedas, which are supplementary to the Vedas. There are 
4 of them. They treat of diseases and medicines, of music 
as an aid to devotion, of the use of arms and other implements 
of war, and of the mechanical arts. There is yet another class 
called the Vedangas, that is, members of or supplements to the 
Vedas. These treat of their pronunciation, the manner in 
which they should be read, etc. 

There are also 6 works called Durshans, each professing to 
contain a system of theological philosophy. The doctrines, 
definitions, explanations, etc., of these professed systems, partly 
from their abstruse nature, their technical phraseology and the 
manner in which the subjects are treated, are very obscure and 
difficult to understand. They show how active the Hindu mind 
was at that early age in such philosophical speculations. But 
they are of as little consequence now as the speculations of the 
schoolmen of the middle ages would be to us at the present 
time. 

There are several ancient works which profess to explain the 
meaning of the Vedas. Some of these are ascribed to Vyas, 
the reputed compiler of the Vedas. One of these works is 
called the Vedant Sar, which is said " to contain an abstract and 
quintessence of aU the Vedas brought together." The Brahra 

31* 



366 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Sutras or Aphorisms, and the Bhagawat Gita are also ascribed 
to the same writer. 



THE INSTITUTES OP MEND. 

This name is given to a code of religious and civil laws, and 
makes a part of the Hindu Scriptures.* The general opinion 
of orientalists is that it was compiled about 9 or 10 centuries 
before the Christian era, which would be soon after the reign of 
Solomon. This work contains a long and obscure account of 
the creation of the world, the origin and laws of the different 
castes, the laws which kings are to observe in administering the 
affairs of their governments and carrying on war, penalties and 
penances for offences, rewards and punishments after death, etc. 
These Institutes give us the best account we have of the civil, 
social, and religious state and character of the nations of India 
at the time they were compiled. And as such a work is in part 
a compilation of previously existing usages and laws, these give 
us a view of the people for considerable time previous to the 
compilation's being made. 

As these laws profess to be of divine origin, kings had no au- 
thority to change them ; their duty was to admmister their gov- 
ernments according to them. There was to be no toleration of 
any neglect or violation of these laws by any class of people. 
In these respects they resembled the laws given by Moses and 
contained in the Old Testament. In no nation were ever civil 
and religious matters more closely united than among the Hin- 
dus. All the rules concerning caste were to be fundamental 
laws of the country, and kings were to govern according to them 
and to enforce them. Brahmins were the expounders and inter- 
preters of these laws, and kings and all invested with authority 
were to carry these laws into effect. If this system of civil and 
religious laws, including the regulations concerning the different 
castes (and these regulations were regarded as of the highest 
importance) contained in these Institutes, were carried into effect 
according to their spnit and intention, it is not easy to conceive 
of any despotism more absolute and unhappy in its conse- 
quences. And such probably the ancient governments of India 

* Sir William Jones made an English translation of this work. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 367 

were. Such the governments in heathen nations have generally 
been. 

THE PURANS. 

There are 18 works of this class which are generally known 
by different names, as the Bhagawat Pm-an, the Vishnu Puran, 
the Padma Puran, etc. They all belong to the Hindu Scrip- 
tures. They are popularly ascribed to Vyas, and were formerly 
regarded as of early origin in the history of India. But the 
general opinion of orientaUsts now is that most, if not all of 
them, were written since the commencement of the Christian 
era. They are generally written in the form of dialogues be- 
tween disciples and then* religious teachers, the latter supposed 
to be some deity, or god in human form, or some inspired sage. 
They treat of the creation, preservation, destruction, and reno- 
vation of the universe, of the genealogy of the gods, of chro- 
nology according to their fabulous system, of rites, ceremonies, 
legends, etc. Some of them were virritten to exalt some partic- 
ular one of the gods, and to set forth his good quahties and his 
marvellous actions. There is much of repetition in them, and 
much that is contradictory, absurd, and to all but Hindus, utterly 
incredible. The idea of using any reason and criticism in judg- 
ing of the contents of their sacred books, or of comparing dif- 
ferent professedly inspired works, or different parts of the same 
work, with each other so as to ascertain their consistency or oth- 
erwise, appears never to occur to the Hindus so long as they 
beheve in their own religious system. 

There is also a class of works called the Upa-Purans, com- 
monly reckoned 18 in number. They are supplementary to the 
Purans, containing such matter as the writers thought had been 
omitted. 

The Ramayan, and the Mahabharat are not generally classed 
with the Purans, but may be reckoned among the Hindu sacred 
books. Of the former name are two works, one of which is 
ascribed to Vyas, the reputed compiler of the Vedas. What- 
ever he wrote, has been believed to be inspired, and so this work 
may be classed with the Hindu Scriptures. The other work 
was written by Valmiki, and is more common and better known. 



368 INDIA, AI^CIENT AND MODEEN. 

Of this work it is often said, and perhaps it is the general opin- 
ion of the Hindus, that it was all written before the events and 
actions described in it took place, and that when these occurred, 
every thing was found on comparison to have occurred exactly 
as they had been previously written. This opinion involves the 
highest degree of inspiration, and so would confirm the truth of 
every thing in it. The subject of the Ramayan is the life, ac- 
tions, etc., of Rama or Ramchundra, king of Ayodya, and believed 
to be one of the incarnations of Vishnu. 

The Mahabharat is also ascribed to Vyas, the compiler of the 
Vedas. The principal subject is the life, actions, etc., of Krishna, 
one of the incarnations of Vishnu. These works were written 
before the Purans, and evidently furnished much of the materials 
of which they are composed. The Bhagawat Gita, sometimes 
called in India the 5th Veda, and which has excited so much 
attention in Europe, is an episode of one of the chapters of this 
work. This part is regarded as possessing the highest degree 
of inspiration, the author or speaker being no other than Krishna, 
an incarnation of Vishnu, or of Vishnu himself incarnate in the 
person of Krishna. It teaches and illustrates Vedantism or 
pantheism. 

THE SUPREME BEING. 

The Vedas say in repeated texts that " There is in truth but 
one Deity, the supreme Spirit, the Lord of the universe, and 
whose work is the universe." A brahmin who was learned in 
the Vedas gave the following view of the Deity, as his character 
is described in these works : — " Perfect truth, perfect happiness, 
without equal, immortal, absolute unity ; whom neither speech 
can describe nor mind comprehend ; all-pervading, all-transcend- 
ing ; delighted with his own boundless intelligence, not limited 
by time or space ; without feet, moving swiftly ; without hands 
grasping aU worlds ; without eyes, all-surveying ; without ears, 
aU-hearing ; without any intelligent guide, understanding aU ; 
without cause, the first of aU causes ; aU-ruling, all-powerful ; 
the creator, the preserver, and the transformer of all things ; such 
is the Great One." This Being the Hindus caU Brahm. A 
distinguished writer on the history, rehgion, etc. of the Hin- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 369 

dus, and long a resident in India, says, " The primary doctrine 
of the Vedas is the unity of God." The same author, referring 
to the Institutes of Menu, says, " The doctrine of Monotheism 
prevails throughout the Listitutes, and it is declared towards the 
close, that of aU duties the principal is to obtain from the 
Upanishads the knowledge of one supreme God." 

The meaning of such language appears to be plain and ex- 
phcit, and we should naturally expect that this asserted unity of 
God would pervade all their religious views, and that he alone 
would be the object of their homage and worship. But it is 
necessary before we can understand the religious principles and 
practices of the Hindus, to see what other doctrines their sacred 
books contain. And here we find that it is said in the account 
they give of the creation, that the eternal and infinite Spirit, or 
Brahm first created the god Brahma, and " he created an assem- 
blage of inferior deities wdth divine attributes and pure souls, 
and a number of genii exquisitely dehcate." These deities are 
declared to be worthy to be adored, and their favor and protec- 
tion are to be sought and procured by prayers and offerings. 
Some of these deities are described as presiding over the elements 
and intrusted with the performance of certain parts in the gov- 
ernment of the world. Agni is the god of fire, Pavun is god of 
the wind, Warun is the god of water, Lidra is god of the skies, 
Yama is god and judge of the dead, etc. Prayers, praises, obla- 
tions, and sacrifices are to be offered to these deities. Indeed, 
no inconsiderable part of the Vedas consists of prayers, praises, 
rites, and ceremonies to be used in oblations and sacrifices to 
these gods. The Institutes of Menu, which are regarded as of 
divine authority, in the account they give of the creation, men- 
tion the names of many deities who are declared to be " lords of 
created beings, eminent in holiness, and who are to be adored 
and worshipped." Thus, though according to the Hindu sacred 
books, there is only one self-existent, eternal, and unchangeable 
Deity, yet they also teach that he or Brahma by his power, 
" created an immense assemblage of inferior deities with divine 
attributes," that these deities are intrusted with power in the 
government of the world, that they can interfere whenever they 
please in human affau's, and so are to be feared, praised, propi- 
tiated, and worshipped. The number of these deities is almost 
infinite. 



370 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In the early history of the Hindu religion and in their oldest 
sacred books nothing is said of idolatry. Images are mentioned 
as worthy to be reverenced, but whether these were images of 
their deities or of their ancestors, is uncertain ; probably they 
were the latter. But an ignorant and superstitious people like 
the Hindus, with such a system of pol3rtheism, were not likely 
long to retain and practise only the spiritual worship of such 
deities. It was easy and natural for them to conceive, form, 
and use some material and visible objects as the likeness 
or symbols or representatives of their deities. And we find that 
such things, as objects or pretended aids in worship, were soon 
introduced and in common use among them. 

These deities, and the supposed incarnations of them, are be- 
lieved to have the control of human affairs, and to have the 
power of conferring any favors which can be enjoyed, and of in- 
flicting any evils which can be endured in this life. So they 
are the objects of religious homage and worship. Their favor is 
desired, and means are used to obtain it ; their displeasure is 
dreaded, and means are used to avert it. But the Hindus have 
yet stronger reasons for worshipping these inferior deities, for 
their shastras further teach that the supreme and self-existent 
Spirit feels no interest and takes no part in the affairs of man- 
kind. KapUa declares the true doctrine of the Vedas to be that 
" the Supreme Spirit has nothing to do with creatm-es, nor they 
with him." He is described as existing in a state of serene re- 
pose or quiescence, quite indifferent to every thing exterior to 
himself; sometimes he is described asunconcious of every thing 
whatever, like persons in a state of sleep, and in this state he 
wiU continue till the end of the world — all the affairs of the cre- 
ated universe being superintended and managed in the mean 
time by the inferior deities he has created. So, as the infinite 
and self-existent Spirit takes no interest in human affairs, aU wor- 
ship or fear of him, aU prayers or praise or gratitude or love to him, 
are vain and useless. To him no temple is ever consecrated, 
no worship is ever offered. The Hindu sacred books contain 
declarations concerning the Supreme Being and their learned 
men often use expressions concerning him, which would natu- 
rally be understood by one not acquainted with their philosophy 
and their religious system, to exclude aU other deities and make 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 371 

him the only object of adoration. And Europeans have some- 
times been surprised on further acquaintance, to learn how 
much they had mistaken some of the first principles and 
usual practices of Brahminism. But the meaning intended by 
such expressions is quite consistent in the opinion of the Hindus 
with their whole system of polytheism, and with the worship 
paid to its numerous deities. By such expressions they do not 
mean the unity of the infinite Spirit to the exclusion of other 
gods, any more than to the exclusion of men. Thej'- mean that 
he alone is the self-existing God, primarily the Creator of all 
things, and into whom all created beings and things, spiritual 
and material, will hereafter be absorbed, so that as he alone ex- 
isted at fu'st, so he alone will exist at the close of this dispensa- 
tion or kalpa. 

Thus, though expressing views of the Unity of God, which 
have often appeared to Europeans to be inconsistent with the 
worship of any other deity, the Hindus have a system of poly- 
theism containing gods more numerous, multiform, monstrous, 
and immoral, than any other nation ancient or modern. The 
number of these deities is declared to be 330,000,000, and any 
one of these deities may be worshipped. Some of these have 
great power, and others are comparatively small and feeble. 
Some are male and others are female. Some are parents and 
others are children. Some have a form in which they generally 
appear — a kind of natural form — and yet they can assume any 
form they please, and become visible or invisible as may best suit 
theu- pm-pose or convenience. Strange and monstrous forms are 
common among them. Some have eyes on different parts of 
their bodies. Some have faces on all sides of the head. Some 
have four, and others have many more hands. And as though 
these variations, distortions, and perversions of the human form 
were not enough, some of the Hindu deities have forms partly hu- 
man and partly animal, and some are entirely in the animal form. 

Brahminism has yet another form — it is not only monotheistic 
and polytheistic, but it is also pantheistic. And this is generally 
the system of the learned, and the primary doctrine of the Vedan- 
tas. They say that the supreme Sph'it and the universe are one 
and the same — that he does not exist separate from the crea- 
tion, nor is the creation separate from him. The universe is 



372 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

only an expansion of the Deity, and the expansion of the Deity 
produces the universe. So with mind and so with matter. 
There is no mind or spirit in the world which is really separate 
from the infinite Spirit. Nothing but this Spirit exists in the 
universe, and aU which appears to be material, actual, and sub- 
stantial, is such only in appearance and not in reality — it is all 
illusion. It is only the endlessly varied energetic operations of 
the aU-pervading infinite Spmt, the aU-pervading and animating 
principle or agent in the world. He alone has any real existence, 
and he produces by his immediate and direct agency, all the 
phenomena in the universe. There is no such thing as substance 
or matter, and all that appears to be such, is only the infinitely 
varied and diversified operation of the self-existing and all-per- 
vading Cause. The advocates of this system say that it is ow- 
ing to the ignorance, dulness, and darkness of the human mind, 
or to the quahties which produce this state in human beings, 
that men think they are separate, distinct, and individual beings, 
and have the power of voluntary action and moral respon- 
sibility, that if men could in any way acquire sufficient knowl- 
edge, discernment, purity, and light, they would at once lose all 
consciousness of individual existence, and their sphits be ab- 
sorbed into union with the infinite Spirit. 

The following extracts show these sentiments : — " Bramh, 
(the infinite Spirit) and individuated spirit are one." — " That 
which pervading all the members of any body, is the cause of 
Hfe or motion, is called individuated sphit ; that which pervades 
the whole universe giving Hfe or motion to all, is one. That 
which pervades the members of the body, and that which 
pervades the universe, imparting motion to all, are one. So 
Bramh and all individuated spirits are one. All life is the 
Creator or Bramh ; he is the soul of aU creatures. All spirits 
are one, not two, and the distinctions I, thou, he, etc., are aU 
artificial, existing only for present purposes. The universe is 
only an expansion of the divine substance. The human spirit 
hke the divine, is eternal and uncreate. The highest object of 
religious meditation is to discover that the worshipper is himself 
God, or a part of God, and the ultimate reward of such discov- 
ery is absorption into the Deity. . As soon as a man can fuUy 
realize that God is every thing and every thing is only a part of 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 373 

God, he will no longer retain any conscious existence — his 
spirit or what he thought was his spirit, will be united with or 
absorbed into the infinite Spirit from whom he emanated." 

MINOR DEITIES. 

In the accounts given of the creation of the world it is said 
that the supreme Spirit Bramh created, or rather by his author- 
ity the god Brahma created, among other beings " an assemblage 
of inferior deities with divine attributes and pure souls, and a 
number of genii exquisitely delicate." It is said that the number 
of these deities is "immense," and they are declared to be "lords 
of other created beings, to be eminent in holiness and to be 
adored and worshipped." They are also declared " to have control 
over human affairs, and to interfere with them whenever they 
please." The world where these deities reside, is Meru or Su- 
meru, a mountain supposed to be north from India. This moun- 
tain is said in the Purans to be 600,000 miles high. Its form 
is like an inverted cone, being 128,000 miles in circumference at 
the base, and twice as much, namely, 256,000 miles, at the top. 
Here the principal gods, as Brahma, Vishnu, Sheva, Indra, etc., 
have each their separate places of residence where they Kve with 
their wives and children. Some of these places are described as 
being gorgeous and splendid, abounding with every thing which 
can contribute to their gratification. They have palaces, gar- 
dens, servants, musicians, courtesans, etc. These gods and god- 
desses are often engaged in domestic quarrels and in disputes 
and contests about their comparative rank, power, etc. They 
are described as having a natural and generally preserved form 
and appearance, but they have power to assume any form, to 
become invisible, and to proceed to any place at their pleasure. 
They can descend to the earth at any time, assume any shape 
or appearance, and manifest themselves to any human being 
whenever they please. 

Among these deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Sheva hold the 
highest place in the Purans and in the general opinion of the 
Hindus. They are sometimes called the Hindu triad. Brahma 
is often called the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Sheva the 
destroyer, of the world. Some account of them wiU be giveno. 

32 



374 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



BRAHMA. 

The creation of the world is generally ascribed to Brahma. 
The Ayeeni Acberry says there were 16 different accounts 
among the Hindus of the creation of the world. Some of these 
accounts are long, obscure, contradictory, and much of them 
unintelligible. The more commonly received opinion is that 
Brahma first created the waters, then the earth, then a great 
number of inferior deities, good and bad genii, etc. Then 
he created the brahmins, who came from his mouth ; the 
kshatryas, who were produced from his arms ; the vaishyas 
from his thighs, and the shudras from his feet. These constitu- 
ted the four primitive castes. 

Brahma is described as of a bright yeUow or golden color, 
with fom- faces and four hands, dressed in shining garments, and 
riding upon a bird resembling a swan. In one hand he holds a 
portion of the Vedas, in one he holds a vessel of water, one is 
raised as bestowing a blessing, and the fom'th as offering 
some gift. No temples are ever dedicated to him, and he is 
never worshipped alone or separate from the other gods. The 
brahmins sometimes make prayers to him, and perform some 
ceremonies in his name. It appears strange that this god, who 
is declared to have created the universe, and who is always men- 
tioned first in enumerating the deities, should receive no worship 
from the great body of the people, and have no temple dedica- 
ted to him. The reason of this neglect and dishonor is stated 
in the Purans to be that in some matters, which involved the 
honor and veracity of Vishnu and Sheva, Brahma not only told 
what he knew was false, but hired two witnesses to confirm what 
he said. The gods, on knowing this iniquity, deprived him by 
their curse, of aU homage and worship. Sheva was so angry (the 
falsehood was concerning him,) that he cut off one of Brahma's 
heads. Before this he had five, but since then he has had only 
four heads.* 

These are not all which is said in the Purans concerning 
Brahma. When spfrituous liquors were first made, all the gods, 

* Some accounts ascribe Sheva's cutting off one of Bralima's heads to another 
and yet more disreputable cause. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 375 

genii, etc., used them, and often to intoxication. One day- 
Brahma having become intoxicated, made an attempt upon the 
virtue of his own daughter. In one of the Purans, it is said 
that he Kved in a state of incest with his daughter for 100 
years. 

The residence or heaven of Brahma on Sumeru, is said in the 
Mahabharat to be 800 miles long and 400 miles broad. His 
reputed son Narad, when inqmred of concerning the place, 
declared he could not describe it in 200 years, and that it con- 
tained in a superior style all that is in the heavens of the 
other gods, and that whatever of beauty, splendor, and glory 
exists in aU the creation of Brahma on the earth, may be seen 
there in its highest perfection. 

VISHNU. 

This god has acquired the character of the preserver of the 
world. He is commonly described in the form of a dark, or blue 
or black man with four arms, holding in one hand a war-club, 
in another a conch-sheU, in another a weapon called chuckra, 
and in the fourth a water-lily. The vehicle on which he rides, 
is a creature partly human and partly bird. This god is 
chiefly worshipped in the form of the supposed incarnations, 
which he at different times assumed for the preservation of the 
world. 

The incarnations of this god called Awatars, form so promi- 
nent a part in the Hindu system, that their probable origin and 
nature appear to deserve some consideration. Some have sup- 
posed that Brahminism is indebted to Christianity for this pecu- 
liarity in its system, or at least for the suggestion of it. But the 
incarnation of the Hindu gods were all so different in their na- 
ture and object from any thing contained in the Christian sys- 
tem, that it does not appear necessary nor reasonable to suppose 
that they ever had any connection whatever. The account of 
these incarnations are contained in the Purans, which are chiefly 
made up of poems and traditions. The early poetry of the 
Hindus was of a very fanciful and extravagant character. The 
Hindus have always been exceedingly credulous, ready to be- 
lieve almost any thing however strange, improbable, and unrea- 



376 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

sonable. This spirit is apparent in their accounts of the crea- 
tion of the world, of astronomy, geography, etc. The conduct 
and character of their heroes must be such as to excite wonder 
and admiration. The ch'cumstances of their birth, the actions 
of their life, and the manner of their death must all be marvel- 
lous. Descriptions and representations of this character were 
suited to the general taste, pleased the national vanity, and flat- 
tered the pride of kings and princes, on whose patronage the 
poets were dependent. 

The Romans were accustomed to deify their heroes and 
emperors after their death, and to set up then- images in their 
temples, and then include their names among their deities. 
The Hindus proceeded still further. In the Satya, the Treta^ 
and the Dwapar yugas or ages, the gods are described as often 
assuming the human form and associating familiarly with men 
for a while, and then suddenly appearing in their superhuman 
character. Contemplating the fanciful and marvellous actions 
ascribed by the poets to their heroes, the Hindus instead of un- 
derstanding these feats and exploits as the fictions and flatteries 
of the writers, assumed them to be true, and then as such 
actions altogether exceeded human power, they declared the 
actors must be deities in human form, or incarnations of some 
of the gods. And when this had been assumed, and was be- 
lieved in respect to one instance, it was easy and natm-al to 
extend this mode of understanding the marvellous parts of their 
early history, all comprehended as it was in the works of their 
poets. In this way the legends of heroic poetry came to be 
taken for the facts of history, and the character of the per- 
sonages were elevated to be deities in some assumed form, 
called awatars, or incarnations, in order to account for their 
being able to accomplish the wonderful things ascribed to 
them. 

And this manner of understanding the Hindu legends and tra- 
ditions was not Hmited to things performed by human agency. 
There were legends and traditions of strange events and actions, 
in which other agents were concerned. Some of these were 
also declared to be true, and to be effected by divine interposition. 
The mystical notions of pantheism, that the Deity is the all- 
pervading and animating spuit of the universe, that the spirit of 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 377 

man is only a modified existence of the infinite Spirit united 
with matter in the human form, and after death to exist in the 
form of brutes, reptiles, fish, and of vegetables and minerals — 
these notions of the Deity made it easy for the Hindus to be- 
lieve almost any marveUous legend or fiction, and ascribe the 
agency to the interposition of some of the gods. Hence some 
of the Aiuatars occurred in the form of animals, and one in the 
form of a fish, and in such incarnations or manifestations the 
Hindus saw nothing inconsistent with the attributes, or deroga- 
tory to the character of their deities. 

The first incarnation of Vishnu is called Matsa Awatar,* 
when he is reputed to have assumed the form of a fish and 
recovered the Vedas, which a demon had purloined and con- 
cealed in the sea. 

The second incarnation is called Vuraha Awatar. " A mon- 
ster-demon delighted in afflicting the earth, and at last rolled it 
into a shapeless mass and plunged down with it into the abyss. 
Vishnu seeing this assumed the form of a boar which soon 
became of immense size, his voice was like thunder and shook 
the universe. He plunged into the ocean, found the earth at the 
bottom, and bringing it up on his tusks, restored it to its former 
shape and state." 

The third incarnation is called the Kurma- Awatar in which 
Vishnu assumed the form of a tortoise. The circumstances 
connected with this awatar, the object to be accomplished by it 
and the different kinds of agency connected with it, are more 
unreasonable and absurd, if possible, than the awatars aheady 
mentioned. 

The fourth incarnation is called the Nursu Awatar, and in its 
nature and object has more the appearance of possibility. A 
wicked and unbelieving man was persecuting his son and threat- 
ening to kiff him for his faith in Vishnu and for worshipping 
him. After much angry disputation the father asked his son, in 
contempt and derision of the pretended power and omnipresence 
of Vishnu, if the god was in a certain pillar then before them, 
at the same time giving the pillar a kick. At that instant the 
pillar parted and the god became manifest in the shape of a man 

* The fish-incarnation. 

32* 



378 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

with the head and paws of a lion. He instantly seized the blas- 
phemer and destroyed him. He then disappeared and the pillar 
resumed its former shape. 

The fifth incarnation is called the Waman Awatar. This 
awatar consisted in Vishnu's assuming the form of a dwarf- 
brahmin to deceive and destroy a king who was giving great 
trouble to the Hindu gods. 

The sixth incarnation was the Awatar of Pursm-am, a brah- 
min-warrior, who in a great war between the brahmins and the 
kshatryas overcame, and as some say, annihilated the latter, or 
the military caste. 

The seventh incarnation was the Awatar of Rama or Ram- 
chundra, the celebrated king of Ayodhya, whose hfe, misfortunes, 
and exploits form the subject of the celebrated epic poem called 
the Ramayan. According to this work, Rama was the son of 
Dushurath, king of Ayodhya, the modern Oude. He was mar- 
ried early in hfe to Seeta, a daughter of the king of Mithili. 
Some domestic troubles, occasioned by the intrigues of his moth- 
er-in-law, compelled him and Seeta to retire into a forest. While 
in this seclusion, Rawun, king of Singul-Dwip or Ceylon, is said 
to have carried away Seeta to his own capital. Rama then col- 
lecting a large force and assisted by allies in the Deckan, pro- 
ceeded towards Ceylon, and building a cause v/ay across the 
strait of the sea, invaded the island, defeated and killed Rawun, 
recovered his wife and returned to Ayodhya. But Rama's 
troubles were not yet at an end. Having by his imprudent 
conduct caused the death of his brother Luxuman, who had 
shared with him in all his dangers and his success, he was in so 
much distress of mind that he threw himself into a river, and 
was reunited to the Deity. The alhes who joined Rama in the 
Deckan, and assisted him in this expedition, are described as a 
class of monkeys under the command of a leader called Hunnu- 
man. He is described as Ram^a's principal mihtary leader, and 
as possessing superhuman qualities of body and mind. He is 
declared to be an incarnation of one of the gods. His image 
in the form of a monkey is very common in temples, and per- 
haps there is no god more worshipped through the Deckan. 

Krishna is generally reckoned the eighth incarnation. But 
many say that Balarama, a celebrated mihtary hero, was the 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 879 

eighth, and that " Krishna was greater than and distinct from 
all the awatars, which had only a portion of the divinity in 
them, while he was the very person of Vishnu himself in a hu- 
man form." 

The ninth incarnation took place in the person of Budh, who 
was a teacher of a false religion. It is said that Vishnu assumed 
this form for the purpose of deceiving the enemies of the gods ! 
Budh is regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu, and yet the doc- 
trines he taught are declared to be heretical, and those who 
beheve and practise them are declared to be deserving persecu- 
tion. The origin and object of this incarnation, the circum- 
stances that accompanied it and the consequences that followed 
it, are among the most marvellous things of Hindu mythology 
or theology. 

" The tenth awatar " says Sir W. Jones, " we are told is yet 
to come, and is expected to appear mounted on a white horse 
with a scimetar blazing LUke a comet to mow down aU the in- 
corrigible and impenitent." 

The life of Krishna is the principal subject of the great poem 
called Mahabharat. As no one of the Hindu gods is more wor- 
shipped than Krishna, and as he is declared " to be not an incar- 
nation of Vishnu but to be Vishnu himself," and also to be 
the " eternal and self-existing Creator of the universe," it is 
proper to give some further notice of him. He was the son of 
Vasudeva and Devaki, and of the royal family of Kousa. Cir- 
cumstances are narrated concerning his birth, which decency 
will not permit here to be mentioned. His infancy and child- 
hood were remarkable for mischievous pranks and actions, 
which would be marvellous, if they were not incredible, puerile, 
and foolish. When he grew up to manhood he manifested his 
superhuman powers chiefly in amorous, wanton, and licentious 
intercourse with the women of the district where he then hved. 
The Hindus say, " as he was divine, he was not subject to the 
moral laws binding on human beings, and so it was lawful for 
him to do what he pleased among the women. And in regard 
to their husbands, they could have no right which tended to the 
exclusion of any god. So the women could do what they 
pleased, irrespective of any moral obligation to their husbands 
or their families." 



380 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

At a more advanced age he engaged in the feuds among 
the families with which he was connected. He acted a con- 
spicuous part in the great war between the Yadus and the 
Pandus, in which his feats and prowess contributed largely to the 
success and final triumph of the latter. After a long course of 
adventures he put to death most or all his own offspring, and 
was shot by an arrow. Of his wives, eight immolated them- 
selves with his dead body upon the funeral pUe. 

" Krishna," says Elphinstone in his History of India, " is the 
greatest favorite with the Hindus of aU their divinities. Of the 
sectaries who revere Vishnu to the exclusion of other gods, one 
sect almost confine their worship to Rama ; but though com- 
posed of an important class, as including many of the ascetics 
and some of the boldest speculators in religious inquiry, its 
numbers and popularity bear no proportion to another division of 
the vaishna sect, which is attached to the worship of Krishna. 
This comprises all the opulent and luxurious, almost aU the 
women, and a very large proportion of all ranks of Indian 
society. The greater part of these votaries of Khrisna maintain 
that he is not an incarnation of Vishnu, but Vishnu himself, and 
likewise the eternal and self-existing Creator of the universe." 
This statement refers more to Bengal than to India generally. 
Ward says, " six parts out of ten of the whole Hindu population 
of Bengal are supposed to be the disciples of this god." He is 
called by different names, and images of him used in his wor- 
ship correspond to his supposed appearance at different periods 
of his life. Anquetil Du Perron says, " The whole histoiy of 
Krishna is a tissue of Greek and Roman obscenities, which 
among the fanatics of all descriptions conceal the most abomi- 
nable enormities." Buchanan, in his work on Mysore, speaking of 
a temple of Vishnu which he saw, says, " The rath, or chariot, be- 
longing to it is very large and richly carved. The figures upon it 
representing the amours of that god, in the form of Krishna, are 
the most indecent I have ever seen." When in India I saw 
chariots or cars of this god, which were covered or ornamented 
with imagery as obscene as could be conceived. On these cars 
images of the god are placed on festival-days and they are then 
surrounded by immense crowds of people who worship them. 
I saw in one celebrated temple a great number of stone 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 381 

statues, in one part of it a long series of them, representing the 
amours of ICrishna, which were of the most obscene character, 
which if exhibited or offered for sale, as statues, or pictures, or 
engravings, or in any form, or described in any language in this 
country, would subject the exhibiter or seller to severe but mer- 
ited punishment from the laws. And yet such representations 
make a part of the Hindu religion, as pubKcly exhibited and cel- 
ebrated. To reasoning and arguments about the worship of 
such gods the ffindus reply, " They were not men but gods, and 
so were not subject to moral laws as we are. They could do as 
they pleased. Actions which would be sinful in us were not 
sinful in them, for being subject to no law they could do what 
tiiey pleased without doing any wrong or committing any sin." / 

The residence or heaven of Vishnu is Vykunt, and is situated 
on mount Sumeru. According to the Purans it is 85,000 miles 
in circumference and is chiefly of gold. The edifices in it are of 
jewels and precious stones. There are numerous pools of water 
containing lilies and other flowers of every variety of form and 
color. There are gardens with flowers of sm-passing beauty, 
fragrance, etc. There Vishnu and Luxumee appear shining 
lilte the sun. Before and around them the inferior deities, the 
musicians, and various orders and classes of heavenly beings 
gaze on their dazzling and divine forms, and chant their praises. 
Into this heaven the votaries of Vishnu of every class say they 
hope to be admitted and to enjoy its pleasures till the merit of 
their actions shaU be exhausted. They must then return to the 
earth, here to assume another birth. 



SHEVA. 

Sheva, often caUed the destroyer, has the thnd place in the 
order of the Hindu deities. This god is described in several 
different ways. In one form he has five faces, three eyes, and 
four hands. In another form he has one head, three eyes, in- 
flamed by his intemperate habits, two hands, with a horn in one 
and a drum in the other, is riding upon a bull, and his body is 
covered with ashes. But he is commonly worshipped by a sym- 
bol with the figure of a bull (his favorite vehicle) looking at it. 
The origin of the worship of this thing as the symbol of Sheva 



382 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

is contained in the Purans, but it is too indecent to be translated, 
or the account to be narrated in the English language, and so it 
must be omitted. Sheva is described as having the appearance 
of a religous mendicant, intemperate in his habits, filthy in his 
person, every way disgusting and contemptible, except perhaps 
in the occasional manifestation of ungovernable temper and ter- 
rible power. "When he was about to be married to Parwuttee, 
her mother and the neighbors cried out, "Ah ! ah ! ah ! this 
image of gold, this most beautiful damsel, the greatest beauty 
in the three worlds, to be given in marriage to such a feUow — 
an old fellow with three eyes, without teeth, clothed in a tiger's 
skin, covered with ashes, encircled with snakes, wearing a neck- 
lace of human bones, with a human skull in his hands, with 
filthy hair twisted round his head, who chews and smokes in- 
toxicating drugs, has inflamed eyes, rides naked on a bull, and 
often behaves like a madman." The Skand Puran makes Sheva 
describe himself thus : " Parwuttee must be very fooKsh to prac- 
tise so severe a penance to obtain me, a wandering mendicant, 
who gets a rag from the dung-hill to clothe his nakedness, rides 
an ox, carries in his hand an axe and a young deer ; who wan- 
ders here and there like a madman, dancing with demons in sol- 
itary places where corpses are burnt ; who adorns himself with 
garlands made of snakes and heads of dead men, and rubbing 
ashes on his body goes about begging with a skull in his hand." 

But this is not his necessa/ry form, for he can at any time as- 
sume any form he pleases. But this is the form and the course of 
conduct in which he most delights. Among the many strange 
things in the Hindu superstition there is nothing more strange 
than that a being of such conduct and character should ever be- 
come an object of religious worship. 

There is much contradiction in the Purans in respect to the 
comparative rank and honor of Brahma, Vishnu, and Sheva. 
A sage caUed Attencin, becoming convinced that he ought to 
worship only one deity, thus addressed them : — " O you three 
Lords, know that I recognize only one God ; inform me there- 
fore, which of you is the true divinity that I may address to him 
alone my vows and adorations." The three gods, Brahma, 
Vishnu, and Sheva becoming manifest to him, replied : — " Learn, 
O devotee, that there is no real distinction between us ; what to 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 383 

you appears such is only by semblance ; the single Being appears 
under three forms, by the acts of creation, preservation, and 
destruction, but he is one." 

Some of the Purans appear to have been written to exalt 
Vishnu, and others were written to exalt Sheva. The votaries 
of each claim the highest honors and attributes for their favorite 
deity, and each party can adduce the authority of the Purans for 
their opinions. By the votaries of Vishnu he is declared to be 
the Supreme God and the Creator of the universe,* and that 
Sheva and aU the other gods are inferior and subordinate to him. 
The votaries of Sheva, calling him Maha Deva or the Great God, 
set up the same claims for him and depreciate Vishnu and aU 
the other gods. These disputes and quarrels have sometimes 
been so violent as to require the interference of the government. 

OTHEE HINDU DEITIES. 

It is not necessary to give any further particular accounts of 
the Hindu deities. Their number is almost infinite. Some of 
them are gods and some are goddesses. In their conduct there 
is little for imitation, and in their character nothing for admha- 
tion, and seldom any thing to procure respect. The same deities 
are called in different districts by different names, and worshipped 
by different rites and ceremonies. Probably some of them were 
the deities and demons worshipped by the rude tribes before 
they embraced the religion now generally called Brahminism. 
Some are monsters in form. Gunesh who is much worshipped, 
has an elephant's head on a human body. Hunnuman who is 
also much worshipped, is beUeved to have been an incarnation 
of one of their gods in the form of a monkey. Some of them 
are believed to be malevolent and to delight in cruelty, torture, 
and bloody-offerings. They aU show how low human nature 
can sink in its conceptions of deity, and how debasing has been 
the religion of India for some thousand years past. 

* One account of the creation of the Tvorld says that at the close of a kalpa, 
Vishnu was sleeping on the waters of the deluge, and a lotus, or water-lily, grew 
up from his navel. From this flower sprung Brahma, who in the form of Nar- 
ayan proceeded to create the world, etc. I have often seen pictures and engTav- 
ings thus representing Brahma springing from Vishnu. The votaries of Vishnu 
declare that he was really the Creator ; they call him so and say that Brahma 
in all he did in creating the world was only the agent of Vishnu. 



384 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



DEMONOLATRT. 

The Hindus are very superstitious in respect to spiritual 
beings, who are supposed to have the power and the disposition 
to interfere in human affans. Accidents, misfortunes, and afflic- 
tions are often ascribed to the malevolent agency of such beings. 
So also are insanity, epilepsy, sudden attacks of fllness, and 
extreme sickness. To appease such beings and to avert their 
displeasure, deprecatory prayers are addressed to them, and offer- 
ings of food are made in places where they are supposed to 
resort. Almost every town and village contain places which 
are beheved to be haunted by evil spirits and are carefully 
avoided, or if it is necessary to pass by them or to go to them, 
some prayer is offered or ceremony is performed to appease the 
evil spirit. Houses are often believed to be haunted and so stand 
empty till they fall to ruin. In such cases the evil being is gen- 
erally supposed to be the spirit of some deceased person who 
formerly lived there. 

The question whether magic originated in Egypt,* or in India, 
wiU probably forever remain undetermined. But a belief in 
magic, sorcery, and witchcraft has long existed among all classes 
of people in India. And for this belief they have high author- 
ity, for the Artharva Veda contains principles and doctrines of 
magic, and ways and means of practising it. Some people are 
supposed to be acquainted with these mysterious rites, mystical 
formulas, and secret incantations, and to have power over spirit- 
ual beings, who can thus be controlled and even compelled to 
be submissive and subservient. By these means evil spirits can 
be restrained and ejected. It is a common opinion that people 
who are sldUed in magic and sorcery can by such means inflict 
evils, sickness, and even death upon then- enemies. It is natu- 
ral that persons supposed to be possessed of such power, should 
be much dreaded. Many of the annoyances, troubles, and afflic- 
tions of life are ascribed to witches, and there are few towns or 
villages without persons suspected or accused of such arts and 
powers. Jugglers, in India rather a numerous class, are beheved 

* Gen. 41: 8. Exo. 7: 11,22. 8: 18,19. 9: 11. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 385 

to have acquired their knowledge and skill by intercourse with 
evil spirits, and to perform their tricks and feats by the assistance 
of such beings. 

There is also among them another kind of superstition. It is 
what they believe to be possession, or inspiration by some deity 
or demon. Instances of this state are very common among some 
classes and in certain districts. Sometimes this influence is ex- 
perienced unexpectedly, and sometimes it is obtained by prayers, 
ceremonies, etc. It generally occurs when people are engaged 
in some kind of religious duties. It is sometimes partial, and 
sometimes complete. When complete, the individual is not 
supposed to have any control over his bodily actions, or men- 
tal faculties, and when he speaks it is beheved to be the 
deity or demon speaking with his organs. At the festivals 
of some of the gods, generally some local deity or demon, 
the people go to his temple, or set up his image in some 
place, and perfuming it with incense, and celebrating his 
praise and worship with a kind of music used only on such 
occasions, some of them bow down before the image and 
invoke the deity or demon to come into them and take posses- 
sion of them. Of those who thus engage in this worship, 
some are generally soon in the state they deske, and begin to 
appear like insane persons. The others then take possession of 
these persons, carefully observe what they say, make inquiry 
concerning matters they wish to know, implore the protection 
and blessing of the deity or demon in them, etc. This state 
generally continues only for a few hours. In most cases the 
possession or inspiration ceases soon after the worship and 
music cease. 

I knew some persons who are sceptical in respect to 
the truth of such possessions and inspiration, but the people 
generally appeared to have entire confidence in the reahty of 
such things. The Scriptures contain numerous instances of the 
possession of persons by evil spirits or demons in the time of 
our Saviour and the Apostles,* and there is no intimation and 
no reason to believe that they were peculiar or limited to that 
age or those nations. The Scriptures assure us that the devil 

* Matt. 8: 16.- 9: 34. 10:1. Mark 1 : 34. 3:11. 16:17. Luke 4 : 41- 
8:2. 9:1. Acts 5: 16. 8:7. 16:18. 19:12-16. 

33 



886 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

has access to the minds of men, and if people renounce the 
true God, worship other deities and demons, invoke them to en- 
ter into them, and then carefully observe the operations of their 
own minds to perceive the expected and desked influence, is it 
unreasonable to beheve that such persons may really experi- 
ence what they seek and deshe ? that they do really become 
possessed, or inspired by the devil or some of his demons, and 
that these beings have had a greater and more dkect agency in 
^originating and perpetuating idolatry and the various systems 
4of superstition and false religion, which exist in the world, than 
is generally beheved? And may not those who wrote the 
l)ooks containing these false rehgions, have had assistance, or 
inspiration much beyond what is generally ascribed to them ? 

IDOLS. 

Idols are made of various materials, as gold, silver, brass, 
stone, (black and white marble,) wood, clay, baked and dried, 
etc. They are of different materials and sizes, as may suit the 
means and convenience of the worshippers. They are intended 
to be in the form of the deities in whose worship they are to be 
used^— to have the same shape the gods are described as having 
in their respective heavens. So some of the idols have several 
heads, many arms and hands, and eyes on different parts of them. 
These idols are made by any persons who have sufficient inge- 
nuity and mechanical skill, as goldsmiths, sculptors, carpenters, 
potters, etc. These images are not regarded as fit to be wor- 
shipped tiU they have been consecrated. The consecration of 
the idol of a common village temple or of those kept in dwell- 
ing-houses, is performed by one or two brahmins without much 
ceremony. But the consecratiag of large temples and the idols 
in them is celebrated uath much ceremony, and great congrega- 
tions of people assemble to join in them. The most learned 
brahmins are employed, and the rites are sometimes repeated 
and prolonged for several days. Among the rites are bathing 
the idols in milk, burning incense before them, invoking the god 
to take up his residence in them, etc. Bands of music are em- 
ployed to extol the praises of the god, and when the image 
becomes, by the rites of consecration, a fit object to be worship- 
ped, then all the people present begin to worship it. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 387 

In large temples and in sacred places idols are kept with great 
care, and no person of low caste is allowed to touch them, nor 
even enter the inclosure or yard surrounding them. They are 
often bathed in water from the Ganges or some other sacred 
place, and sometimes costly clothes and jewels are put upon 
them. Idols in common temples are kept with less care. These 
as Avell as idols set up in gardens, in fields, and in groves, are 
often exposed to any ti-eatment that people may show them, but 
fear of being discovered and dread of the displeasure of the 
god generally preserve such idols and places from contempt and 
profanation. 



TEMPLES. 

The temples of India are of almost every size and form. 
They are not built to accommodate assemblies of people like 
churches, as there is no social prayer, nor praise, nor hearing in- 
struction in their worship. The first and chief purpose of erecting 
a temple is to have a suitable place to contain the idol, the ob- 
ject to be worshipped. The space inclosed in the temples is 
generally large enough to aUow the priest who has the charge 
of the idol, to walk around it. Sometimes the idol is placed 
near the wall opposite to the door. People of all classes ex- 
cept the lowest, go into many of the village temples scattered 
over the country, but only the brahmins are allowed to enter the 
largest temples and those which claim peculiar sanctity. At 
such places the other castes are allowed to come only to the 
door. In some temples the distance to which different castes 
are allowed to approach towards the idol is fixed in view of 
their supposed respective purity. Some of the temples have 
\\^alls, and even several walls, one within another, surrounding 
them like the temple in Jerusalem. Some of these temples have 
more the appearance of forts than of places of worship, and in 
the former unsettled state of the country, they were often made 
places of refuge and defence. Temples of this character are 
now most frequently found in the southern parts of India.* 

* The temple of Seiingliam, on an island in the river Coleroon, near Trichln- 
opoly, is one of the largest in India. " It is composed of 7 square inclosures, 



388 THE NATIVE POPULATION. 

Many large and fortified temples were taken and destroyed by 
the Mohammedans in northern India in their early wars with 
the Hindus. Temples are generally of brick and stone, and are 
more substantially built than the dwelling-houses. Temples 
are often found in a state of good preservation among the ruins 
and rubbish of deserted villages and cities. Li this way the 
Hindus show their respect for religion. 

The temples have generally been erected by individuals. 
Sometimes the members of a family have united to erect one, 
and in some instances they have been erected by the native gov- 
ernments. Many temples have endowments. In the western 
part of India, a part of the revenue of the village is often ap- 
propriated to keeping one or more of the temples in repair, to 
lighting them and performing ceremonies in them on particular 
holidays. Wealthy individuals or families generally endow the 
temples they build. These endowments often consist of the 
rents of lands, sometimes of the whole or part of the rent of 
villages which belonged to the builders. Sometimes the builder 
and the people of the village or district would obtain an endow- 
ment from the government. In such cases whether the endow- 
ments are from individuals or from the government, the care of 
the temple is intrusted to some brahmin or brahmins and then* 
families in succession, who are to receive the income of the 
endowments and in return are to keep the temple in repair, and 
to perform certain specified rites and services in it. It was 
regarded as the duty of the government to enforce the terms of 
such endowments. The brahmins and their successors were 
required to perform the duty for which the endowments were 
made, and were enabled to realize the income. Some such 
endowments were made several centuries ago and a large num- 
ber of famUies are supported by them. 

These endowed temples have sometimes a band of music 

one ■vvithin another, the walls of wliich are 25 feet high and 4 feet thick. These 
inclosures are 350 feet distant from one another, and each has 4 large gates 
with a high tower, which are placed one in the middle of each side of the inclo- 
sure, and opposite to the four cardinal points. The outward wall is nearly 4 
miles in circumference, and its gateway to the south is ornamented with jjillars, 
several of which are single stones 33 feet high, and nearly 5 feet in diameter, 
and those which form the roof are still larger." This temple has endowments 
to the amount of more than 20,000 dollars annually. 



INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 389 

attached to them, who attend on festival days, and who also 
every morning at sunrise and again at sunset celebrate the 
praises of their god. I have seen many such temples, and in 
one instance the brahmins in charge wished to decorate me 
with flowers, and thus honoring me at the temple, then to accom- 
pany me with their band of music some distance on my way. ■ 
This was on the Coromandel Coast, where I could but imper- 
fectly use the language of the people, and it was some time 
before I could make them understand why I dechned the honor 
they intended to show me. 

Princes and wealthy people often have private temples in 
their gardens and parks. People often have a place in their 
houses, in which the idols they worship are placed. 'This place 
is sometimes a small room or closet or niche in the wall, in 
which several idols are placed. Sometimes a brahmin is em- 
ployed to perform the daily rites of the idols, and sometimes 
some one of the household * wiU do it. The idols are often 
bathed, incense is burned, flowers and articles of food are offered, 
the worshipper joins his hands and bows his head or prostrates 
himself, repeats prayers, etc. 

The worship, rites, etc., at some of these temples are such as 
might be expected from the character of their deities. The fol- 
lowing is an extract from the author's journal written whUe at 
Jejury in 1833. 

" Here is a celebrated temple of Khundoba, who is believed to 
be an incarnation of Sheva. His incarnation, it is believed, took 
place in this vicinity, and after accomplishing the object for 
which it was assumed, the god ascended to heaven from the top 
of a hill in front of the village. Hence this place became the^ 
principal seat of his worship. A work on India published some 
years ago contains the following description of this temple. ' It 
is built of fine stone, is situated on a high hiU in a beautiful 
country, and has a very majestic appearance. Attached to it is 
an establishment of dancing girls amounting to 250 in number. 
This temple is very rich, X 6,000 being annually expended on 
account of the idol, who has horses and elephants kept for him,, 
and with his spouse is daily bathed in rose and Ganges water, 
although the latter is brought from a distance of more than 

« See Judges, 17: 5, 12, 13. 

33* 



390 THE NATIVE POPULATION. 

1,000 miles.' Since this description was written the temple has 
apparently suffered somewhat in its revenues and popularity. 
The rites of idolatry, however, are still performed here with much 
parade and pomp. The ' dancing girls ' are females who have 
been dedicated to the god, generally by their parents, though 
• sometimes children have been purchased for this purpose. This 
dedication is made professedly in the fulfilment of vows, though 
the true reason sometunes is the inability of the parents to form 
marriage connections for then daughters. On arriving at a cer- 
tain age the unhappy girl is brought to the temple, and in a pre- 
scribed form is dedicated and presented as an offering to the god. 
The customary ceremony of marriage is then performed between 
her and the idol, and this is the only marriage state she ever 
enters. This dedication to the god with the succeeding cere- 
mony of marriage to the idol, is only an introduction to a life of 
prostitution, which is begun and followed without fear of 
sin or sense of shame on the part of the unhappy woman or of 
her connections ; her dedication to the god, instead of requuing 
holiness of heart and life, becoming a reason why she may fol- 
low such a course without incurring infamy or guilt. A few of 
these women are employed in the temple, where they assist in 
performing the rites and ceremonies of worship, and as many as 
can find means of support, Kve in the village near the temple. 
But the greater part of them are scattered in the large vil- 
lages and cities through the country and visit the idol only at the 
festivals. The number of this unhappy class who are thus in- 
troduced, we may say forced, into this course of prostitution and 
wretchedness for Kfe without any choice or agency on their part 
is very large, and they spread around a pernicious influence." 

There are other temples similar in the character of their dei- 
ties and the conduct of their votaries. Thus some people can 
be as wicked as they please, and yet be serving their gods. 
But in these practices the Hindus are not worse than ancient 
heathen nations : not worse than the Canaanites who were 
driven out of their country, or destroyed by the Hebrews ; and 
not. worse than the ancient Greeks and Romans. The gods of 
the Hindus are not worse than Bacchus, Venus, and Laverna, 
or than Moloch, Baal-peor, and Astarte. History shows that 
heathenism, in its deities, its practices, and its influence, has 
been essentially the same in all ages and in aU nations. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 391 



CAVE-TEMPLES. 

The excavated rock-temples in the western part of the Deckan 
and m the Concan are the most remarkable and wonderful mon- 
uments of superstition in India, or in any country of the world. 
These temples are excavated in solid rock, and so are subterra- 
nean. Some of them are Budhist, some are Brahminical, and 
some of them contain the symbols and images of both these sys- 
tems. The most remarkable of these are the temples of Ele- 
phanta and Kennery, near Bombay, and of Karlee, Adjunta, and 
Elora, in the Deckan. 

The Elephanta temples are on an island a few miles east from 
Bombay, across the harbor. They are excavated in the rock of 
a hill 300 or 400 feet high, and about half-way up its ascent. 
The principal temple is 130 feet long, 123 feet wide, and 15 
feet high. The roof, or ceiling, is flat, and supported by rows of 
pillars, which as well as the images, are a part of the natural 
rock of the hill. Most of these pillars are now fallen or mu- 
tilated. Tradition among the inhabitants says that the Mo- 
hammedans or the Portuguese placed cannon at the entrance of 
the temple and battered down the pillars and images as far as 
they could. The images, which were once numerous and some 
of them very large, are nearly all now in a mutilated and de- 
cayed state. But the principal figure of the temple, the image 
of the god to whom the temple was apparently dedicated, still 
remains nearly entire, though somewhat decayed. It consists 
of a gigantic bust with three faces at the end opposite to the 
principal entrance. This figure is richly ornamented, and shows 
a style of sculpture superior to what is generally seen in such 
temples. There are apartments communicating w^ith the sides 
of this temple with images and symbols of the Hindu deities, 
descriptive of scenes and events in their sacred history, and 
shrines for performing the rites and ceremonies of their worship. 
The images, symbols, and shrines, in this temple, are brahmini- 
cal. There is no inscription in it, and no mention is made of 
it in any Hindu work. So there are no means of ascertaining 
when it was made, or when or why it was abandoned. The 
general opinion of Europeans who have examined this temple is, 



392 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

that it was made subsequent to the Christian era, and some be- 
lieve it was made as late as the 9th or lOth century. 

The Kennery temples are in the island of Salsette, about 25 
miles north from Bombay. They consist of tu^o large, and a 
great number of small excavations. They are all apparently of 
Budhist origin and construction, and appear once to have formed 
a large monastic establishment. Probably this was a large 
Budhist theological seminary at the time when our Saviour was 
on the earth. There are some inscriptions on the walls in some 
ancient character, which have occasioned much speculation 
among orientahsts. There is no well-authenticated history of 
these caves ; and when they were made, how long they were used, 
and why they were abandoned, will probably always be un- 
known. 

The Karlee temple is near the road from Bombay to Poona. 
It is a large and beautiful excavation about 130 feet long and 
40 feet wide, with a high-arched roof. Like the Kennery temple, 
it is of Budhist origin and has two rows of pillars terminating 
in a semicircle. The temple and imagery are well preserved, 
and altogether form one of the most beautiful temples I saw in 
India. There are several smaller excavations near the temple, 
but they are in a dilapidated state, or were never finished. 

The Adjunta temples are near a village of this name, situated 
40 miles north-east from Aurungabad. These temples are ex- 
cavated in the rocks on the side of a deep ravine. They are nu- 
merous ; 25 had been examined when I left India, and it is 
said that others have been since discovered. One of these temples 
is 100 feet long and 40 feet wide. On each side is a roAV of large 
pillars, 12 feet high, and converging at the end opposite to the 
entrance so as to form a semichcle. The roof between these pil- 
lars and the walls is flat, but between the pillars it is arched, and 
at the end it is semicncular. This temple contains many 
images, and has also many figures pamted upon the walls. 
There is one excavation which is 80 feet square, with a flat 
roof, or ceiling, supported by 28 pillars. In the sides of this ex- 
cavation are many small ceUs, apparently designed for dormito- 
ries. There are two temples each 64 feet long and 62 feet 
wide. The roof of each is flat, and is supported with 20 pil- 
lars. These temples contain images and paintings on the walls. 
These temples are of Budhist origin and worship. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 393 

The Elora temples, so called from a village of this name near 
them, are 16 miles north-west from Aurungabad. These temples, 
in number, size, and magnificence, exceed any works which idola- 
try or superstition has made in India. One of these temples 
called Kylas, or the paradise of Sheva, is a temple formed of a 
single rock, which is an integral part of the mountain, in an ex- 
cavated court 247 feet long and 150 feet wide. The walls of 
this court are the rock in which the excavation is made, and 
they vary in height from 50 to 100 feet. In these walls are many 
excavated rooms, halls, and galleries, some of them of two sto- 
ries. In the centre of this com't is the grand temple, 142 feet 
long, 60 feet wide, and 90 feet high to the apex. In this temple 
is one large room with 16 pillars to support the superincumbent 
mass of rock. There are also many small rooms and shrines. 
The outside of this temple is entirely covered with sculptured 
figures, representing actions and events described in the Purans. 
This temple, with its rooms, haUs, galleries, shrines, images, ajad 
courts, consists of the original rock of the mountain, reduced to 
their present state and form internally and externally, by exca- 
vation and sculpture. The genius, skill, and labor, exhibited in 
its design and execution, place it among the most remarkable 
works of any age or nation. 

Near Kylas is a temple which has three stories, or rather the 
excavation consists of three large temples, one above the other. 
The lower temple is 117 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 12 feet 
high, with a large recess for the principal image. The second 
temple is 114 feet long, 66 feet wide, and 12 feet high, with a 
recess, and the third temple is 110 feet long, 66 feet wide, and 
12 feet high, with a recess. Near this is an excavation which 
contains two large temples, one alpove the other. The lower 
temple is 103 feet long, 46 feet wide, and 14 feet high, and the 
upper one is apparently of the same size. There are many 
other large temples excavated in the mountain, either of which, 
if alone, would excite admiration, but as in a city of palaces, 
one, which would be an ornament and honor to any common 
city, excites but little attention where it is, so here a temple ex- 
cavated in solid rock as large as our largest churches, being only 
one of many similar to it, excites little surprise or admiration. 

There are also excavated rock-temples at Juneer, Nasseek, 



394 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Badami, and other places, but they are not equal in size and 
magnificence to those at Elora. There are no means of ascer- 
taining at what time these Avonderful works were made. Some 
of them are Budhistical, some are Brahminical, and some show 
a mixture of both systems. The Budhist temples appear to be 
more ancient than the Brahminical, and in the temples of a 
mixed character, the images and symbols of the latter appear to 
have been ingrafted upon those of the former. The apotheosis 
of Budh is generally supposed to have taken place in the 6th 
century before Christ, and about 250 years b. c. a power- 
ful prince by the name of Asoka, whose capital was Magadi, 
was very zealous in propagating, and generous in supporting 
Budhism. A long and severe controversy was carried on be- 
tween the rival systems, which resulted in the triumph of the 
brahmins and their votaries, and the expulsion of the Budhists 
from Lidia and their taking refuge in Ceylon. The oldest 
Budhist temples, it is believed, were made before the Cluistian 
era, and some of them were probably made after that epoch. 
The brahminical temples were probably made in the early cen- 
turies of the Christian era. 

The Budhist temples would naturally be abandoned when the 
votaries of that system were driven out of Lidia, unless the 
brahmins should convert them to their own use. But we know 
not what should cause the brahmins and their votaries to aban- 
don these temples, the works of so much labor, and which could 
be used to so much effect in supporting then* system of idolatry 
and superstition. Some have supposed that the Mohammedans 
profaned these temples, and so forcibly interfered with the 
Hindus using them. But the Mohammedans did not take pos- 
session of the western provinces of India till near the close of 
the 13th century, and I am not aware that there is any mention 
of their profaning or injuring these temples in any Hindu or 
Mohammedan history. Some have supposed that the Portu- 
guese, who obtained possession of Bombay and Salsette early 
in the 16th century, profaned and mutilated some of these tem- 
ples, and there is some such tradition among the natives. But 
had this been done, it is very improbable that the Portuguese 
historians of that age should not have mentioned it. 

These works were made long before the discovery of gunpow- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 395 

der, and the labor of executing them appears to be incalculable 
and incredible. They show the power of false religion and su- 
perstition over former generations of the inhabitants of India. 
Whether the labor of executing these works was performed 
voluntarily from the strong and enduring feelings of superstition, 
or in reluctant obedience to despotic power, or for wages from 
the treasuries of kings, (for none but kings could pay for such 
things,) we know not, and apparently the world will never 
know. 

Some of these excavated temples were monastic establish- 
ments and so would be places for religious education as well as 
for devotion. In India such education would include the whole 
circle of philosophy, science, and literature. Among the Budh- 
ists, cehbacy is an essential qualification for the priesthood, and 
much of the labor of making these excavations may have been 
performed by those who occupied them, or expected to become 
then' inmates. 

In the present state of these temples, abandonisd and partly 
filled with rubbish, the images mutilated and the paintings de- 
faced, it i? not easy to see how they must have appeared when 
the system of superstition to which they were dedicated, was in 
its glory, and when brahmins and budhists ministered at these 
shrines, and appeared to be the companions as well as the 
priests of these deities. In these vast halls and gloomy recesses, 
secluded from the light, (for there is evidence of curtains and 
screens having been once used,) surrounded by gigantic images 
of the gods and paintings of sacred scenes, all arranged and 
managed so as to produce the most striking effect, the pretended 
mysteries and the solemn rites and imposing ceremonies of poly- 
theism and idolatry were performed. • And we cannot conceive 
of any circumstances fitted more powerfully to affect the minds 
of an ignorant and superstitious people like the Hindus. 

In view of the influence which these temples must have ex- 
erted in supporting and perpetuating idolatry and superstition, 
we cannot regret seeing them in the state in which they now 
are. Indeed, so far from feelings of regret, we have reasons for 
gratitude and thankfulness to God that in the course of his 
providence, by means unknown to us, these idols have been 
broken, the rites and ceremonies once performed here are forgot- 



396 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ten, and that these palaces of the powers of darkness have 
become desolate and forsaken. 



SACRED PLACES. 

Sacred places are very numerous in India. The fame of some 
of them, as Juggunath, Benares, Hurdwar, Dwarka, Nasseek, 
extend through all the country, and people go from the extreme 
parts of India on pilgrimage to them. These places are cele- 
brated for the manifestation of some god, or some other remark- 
able events mentioned in their sacred books, and great merit is 
believed to be acquired by making pilgrimage to them, and there * 
performing religious rites and ceremonies. It is believed that 
people who die at some of these places, obtain emancipation 
from future birth and sufferings, and so devotees and rich men 
often go there to end their days. There are hundreds of sacred 
places of less 'notoriety scattered all over the country, to which 
people in the districts resort on pilgiimage. These pilgrimages 
are generally festivals, and continue often for 2 or 3 days. A 
part of the time is spent in religious rites, a part often in trans- 
acting business, a part in hearing the Purans read, seeing 
shows, etc. At some of the large temples the idols are placed 
on large cars and drawn round the temple. The people have 
then an opportunity of worshipping the gods and of manifest- 
ing their homage by drawing the cars. The brahmins who have 
the charge of such temples, contrive many ways to extort 
money from all classes of the pilgrims. Thieving, robbing, 
lewdness, and all kinds and forms of villany and wickedness are 
rife at such places. Many lose aU their means, and then have 
to beg their way home. The sufferings endured and the super- 
stition manifested on such pilgrimages are very great.* Travel- 
ling in India is slow, and in the hot and the rainy months is un- 
healthy, and gr^t numbers die of cholera, stnallpox, and other 
diseases at the places of pilgrimage, and in going and returning. 

* I have often seen persons proceeding on pilgrimage, who measured the dis- 
tance by prostrating themselves on the gTOund, repeating every time the name 
of the god, or of the place to which they were going. Such labor, fatigue, and 
suffering are believed to be peculiarly pleasing to the god and to secure his 
favor. Such pilgrimages are generally made in the performance of vows. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION". 397 

Devotees who have become weary of life and are without any- 
social or domestic connections to bind them to their fellow- 
creatures, sometimes go to such places with the purpose of 
sacrificing themselves. Some pilgrims, who are reduced to dis- 
tress by sickness or the death of friends, form the same purpose. 
And some persons of a superstitious spirit, becoming excited 
almost to a state of frenzy by what they see and hear, sud- 
denly resolve to devote themselves to the deity there worship- 
ped. In view of such circumstances, it does not appear strange 
that some persons should throw themselves under the ponder- 
ous car of Juggunath, or leap into the most holy places of the 
Ganges, expecting to go immediately to the heaven of the god 
to whom they sacrifice themselves. Shocking as such instances 
of self-immolation are, yet to those acquainted with the charac- 
ter of the Hindus and the natm-e of their religious system, such 
acts are only the natural result of their idolatry and supersti- 
tion. Such acts of self-destruction are less frequent now 
than formerly, partly because there is less enthusiasm and fanat- 
icism among the Hindus, and partly because the English gov- 
ernment has enacted laws inflicting punishment upon any who 
shall aid or cooperate in such acts of self-destruction, and in 
some places such self-immolation cannot be performed without 
religious rites and ceremonies, which require the aid and coop- 
eration of other persons. 

PPJESTS AND SPIRITUAL GUIDES. 

The brahmins form the hereditary priesthood in India. None 
but brahmins can teach and explain the Vedas, and according 
to the Vedas they alone can properly perform any religious rites. 
And any brahmin who has sufficient knowledge of the prescribed 
formularies, can perform the rites required. But many of the 
brahmins do not possess this knowledge, and so are not compe- 
tent to perform the rites of their reHgion in the manner required. 
And further, in some parts of the country the right and duty of 
performing aU the religious rites and ceremonies in a particular 
village or district was assigned by the native governments to a 
particular family and its descendants. Li such cases the indi- 
vidual or families claim the right of performing all the religious 

32 



398 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ceremonies, and of receiving the remuneration for them m their 
respective village or district. The governments, native and Eu- 
ropean, protect them in these rights, and if any other brahmin 
should perform any such rites in such village or district, he is 
liable to prosecution and penalty. The temples also are alvi^ays 
under the care of particular individuals or families, who manage 
the endowments, if there are any, and appropriate to their own 
use the offerings made to the god. 

In some instances the officiating priests in the temples are not 
brahmins, but belong to some of the numerous castes into which 
the shudras have become divided. This arrangement, so differ- 
ent from the precepts of the Vedas and the prerogative of the 
brahmins, probably had its origin in a period anterior to the 
brahminical system's being received in these districts. It is 
probably a relic of the superstition of the primitive or aboriginal 
tribes. Brahminism, in its gradual progress, incorporated into its 
pantheon the local deities or demons, and had continued to tol- 
erate usages and customs, which it has not power to extinguish 
or to reform. I saw many temples of this kind in India. Some 
of them are large and weU endowed. Brahmins seldom wor- 
ship in such temples, and learned brahmins generally look upon 
them and aU connected with them with feelings of contempt. 

Men of different castes often set themselves up for religious 
teachers, principally in the way of using and teaching mystical 
words and phrases, fortune-telling, etc. Such men often acquire 
great influence among people of their own caste. They are com- 
monly called Gurus, and their followers often worship them, say- 
ing, " they are to us instead of God." They are supposed to ac- 
quire great influence with the gods. Their favor and blessing are 
earnestly desired, and their displeasure and curse are exceedingly 
dreaded. They often select particular favorites among their fol- 
lowers, pretend to impart to them special instructions, and so 
prepare them to become their successors in spiritual power and 
influence. These fanatics and impostors have sometimes given 
the governments, Hindu, Mohammedan, and English, great 
trouble, and it has been necessary to employ military force to 
restrain and to subdue them. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 399 



SACRED DAYS. 

The number of sacred days in the Hindu religion is very large. 
Among these are the days of the new and full moon, and also 
certain days in its increase and in its decrease. Their name for 
Sunday, as with us, is derived from the Sun, and this is regarded 
as more sacred than any other day of the week. Nearly every 
month has some great holiday. Some of them continue for 
only one day, and others continue for 2 or 3 and more days. 
These are observed in honor of some god or mythological event. 
Business is generally suspended, and people spend their time in 
religious rites, visiting, amusements, etc. On some of these 
days, the rites and revelry, and the songs and amusements are 
of a very exceptionable character, and exert an unhappy in- 
fluence upon the moral state of the people. One of these called 
Holee, which usually takes place in March, resembles the Satur- 
nalia of the Greeks and Romans, and continues for several days. 
The amusements in which the men engage, the songs they sing, 
and the scenes which are witnessed in the streets at these times, 
are so exceedingly indecent and obscene that the native women 
avoid being seen in the streets or in their houses. 

The Hindus are also very superstitious in respect to lucky and 
unlucky days. Their almanacs are chiefly valued for the in- 
formation they are supposed to contain on these subjects. The 
large and small concerns of life are managed in a fuU belief of 
such lucky and unlucky days, and the trouble, loss of time, and 
difficulties which such a belief occasions, are among the burdens 
which the Hindus suffer from their religious system. 



WORSHIP, RITES, ETC. 

The Hindus can scarcely be said ever to worship the self-ex- 
isting and eternal Spnit. Some say it is impossible to worship 
him, as it transcends our capacities in our present state, and that 
he does npt take any cognizance of worship, and not having 
commanded it, so he will not regard it. Others have a more nat- 
ural and common sense opinion on this subject and talk more 
reasonably, but "their opinions have little influence upon their 



400 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

conduct. Temples are never without idols, and people if they 
wish to worship, always procure an idol or get to one, if possible. 
But when this is impracticable, they call upon their gods by 
repeating their names, offering short petitions, maldng vows, etc., 
and they beheve that the gods hear them. Mental and spiritual 
worship is thus sometimes practised among them, but only when 
no access can be had to idols. One way of worship is for the 
worshipper to stand before the idol, fix his eyes upon it, join his 
hands, and bowing his head, repeat the name of the god, adding 
perhaps a short petition. Another way is to perambulate the 
idol, bowing to it as often as the worshipper comes before it. 
Another way is to prostrate the body on the ground before the 
idol. Garlands of flowers are often put upon idols, and offerings 
of flowers, fruit, sweetmeats, jewels, money, etc., are put before 
them. All such offerings, unless designed to be placed upon 
the idols, belong to the priests, who have the charge of the idols, 
and are appropriated to their own use. In some instances the 
idols on certain festival days are removed from the temples, 
placed on large cars, and drawn round their temples. 

The rites and duties prescribed for the brahmins, if all were 
performed, would require a large part of the time. They con- 
sist of repeating the names of the different gods, reading the sa- 
cred books, ablutions intermixed with many ceremonies, repeat- 
ing the Gayutree * and other mystic verses, at the same time 
keeping the head and body in various positions, etc. Few 
brahmins now perform the whole routine of daily ceremonies, 
and many perform only a small part of them. The other castes 
also have their daily rites, though compared with those of the 
brahmins, they are few in number and easily performed. But 
the Hindu religion is emphatically one of ceremonies. Religious 

* Gayutree is the name of a holy and mystical sentence, or text, in the Vedas 
•which brahmins repeat in performing their rites. It is variously translated, 
as : — " Let us meditate on the adorable light of the divine ruler ; may he direct 
our intellects." " We meditate on that adorable light of the resplendent sun ; 
may it dirfect our intellects." " We meditate upon the superexcellent light of 
the resplendent sun ; let him direct our intellects." " We meditate upon the 
glorious sun ; may he illuminate our minds." They must look at the sun, if 
visible, when repeating the words, and when the natural eyes gaze at the sun 
the mind should be fixed upon the Supreme Being, to whom the prayer as some 
pretend is really addressed. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 401 

rites are enjoined to be performed at birth, or rather before 
birth, and at all the personal and relative changes in life. Nor do 
these cease with Ufe. As death approaches, the dying person, if 
near the Ganges, is hurried to the banks of the river, where a 
part of the rites is to fill his mouth with water, all which must 
aggravate his sufferings if it does not hasten his death. If not 
hving near the Ganges, the dying person must be removed so as 
to die upon the ground. The Hindus generally burn their dead, 
though some who have not means to meet the expense of burn- 
ing, and some devotees and lower clas-ses, bury their dead or 
throw them into rivers. The burning or bmial is generally 
performed in a few hours after death. The eldest son or near- 
est relation performs the funeral ceremony. There are few rites 
at death or the funeral, but for some days aU who are nearly re- 
lated to the deceased, are regarded as in a state of ceremonial 
impurity. When this time has passed, the near relatives as- 
semble, generally on the bank of some river or tank, and numer- 
ous ceremonies called Shradh are performed in honor and for 
the supposed benefit of the deceased. In some parts of India 
the number of people, friends, brahmins, and devotees, who as- 
semble at a Shradh is very great, and as all expect presents or 
charity, the expense is large. 

It is usual to perform a monthly Shradh for the first year 
after the death of a parent, and once or more in every year a 
Shradh is performed for aU their ancestors. These rites are be- 
lieved to be very meritorious, as well as to give great pleasure 
to their ancestors, and so great importance is attached to per- 
forming them. 

Many of the Hindu rites about touching dead bodies, physi- 
cal impurity in men and women, persons diseased with the lep- 
rosy, etc., resemble the laws of the Jews contained in the Penta- 
teuch. The laws of purification are also similar, as continuing 
separate for a certain time, then bathing, etc. 

Numerous atonements and penalties are prescribed in the 
shastras. The actions for which many of these are required, are 
of a very frivolous character. Some of these atonements and pen- 
alties are very severe, and others are very light, when compared 
with the nature of the offences. Some of these penalties con- 
sist in presents of land, money, cows, etc., to brahmins, and in 

34* 



402 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

performing menial services for them ; some consist in mutilating 
and branding certain parts of the body, in self-torture, in fast- 
ings, sitting or standing in painful positions, etc. These 
penalties appear from their inequaUty, cruelty, and indecency, 
evidently to have had their origin in a barbarous age, and 
among a very superstitious people. They are regarded as of di- 
vine origin, but it is scarcely credible that they should ever 
have been recognized as the laws of any country, or as making 
a part of any system of religion. 

SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 

There is abundant evidence from the early records of the 
Hindus, that human sacrifices were sometimes offered. In tliis 
practice they resembled other ancient heathen nations. The In- 
stitutes of Menu say, " The sacrifice of a bull, of a man, and 
of a horse in the Kalee yug (the present age), must be avoided." 
There have been instances in modern times in which some fa- 
natics and devotees haA'^e secretly devoted human beings to de- 
struction, to appease Kalee or some of theu* malevolent deities. 
But such sacrifices do not now make a part of the Hindu re- 
ligion, as pubhcly professed and practised. 

The sacrifice of a horse is described at much length, in the 
Purans. This sacrifice could only be ofiered by kings and 
princes, and it is not known that any one has attempted to offer 
it for some centm-ies past. Sacrifices are now seldom ofiered 
according to the Hindu ritual, which is very prolix and expen- 
sive. Buffaloes, sheep, goats, and fowls are offered at some 
places on certain festivals, chiefly by the middhng and lower 
classes, and with few rites. Sacrifices of this kind are some- 
times offered when cholera or other epidemics prevail, to ap- 
pease the malevolent deity, who is supposed to cause the 
disease. At such times the blood of the animal sacrificed is 
sometimes sprmkled in the streets and places where the disease 
most prevails. The frenzy that pervades people at such times, 
the rites they perform and the means they use, in the hope of 
stopping the disease, or appeasing the malevolent deities which 
are beheved to be killing theh friends, are very shocldng, and ap- 
pear truly diabohcal. They remind one of what the Apostle 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 403 

says : " The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to 
devils and not to God." * 

Burnt-offerings called horn, consisting of clarified butter, 
boiled rice, honey, and other substances, are often made. Drink 
offerings called turpun, are made at the time of bathing, by tak- 
ing up water in the hand, or a small vessel, and pouring it out, 
repeating at the same ^me the name of the god, or demon, or an- 
cestor, to whom it is offered. This is a very common rite. 

Meditation (d/ian) is an important part of worship. The 
worshipper must assume a particular attitude, carefully adjust- 
ing his feet, hands, eyes, etc. He is then to m_editate upon the 
god he wishes to worship, calling to mind his form, acts, etc. 
Or believing his own soul to be only a part of the supreme 
Spirit, or that his own thoughts, etc., are aU the operations of the 
supreme Spirit pervading his body and all the universe, he en- 
deavors by introspection to contemplate the Deity in the actings 
of Ms own mind. This kind of worship is believed to be very 
meritorious, and some devotees are believed in this way to ac- 
quu'e great knowledge of divine things. The gods are said 
often to have revealed themselves to people when thus engaged 
in meditation. 

Repeating the name of some one of the gods is a very com- 
mon mode of worship. To assist in this exercise a string of 
beads, pearls, or berries is prepared, containing 50 or 100, or 
some known number. The worshipper by removing one of 
these each time he repeats the name, is enabled easily to reckon 
his prayers and know when he has completed the intended num- 
ber of repetitions. Some people spend hours in this practice. 
In view of this practice and the belief in which it originates, we 
see the propriety of what our Saviour said to his disciples, 
" When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathens do ; 
for they tliink they shall be heard for their much speaking." f 

The Hindus seldom have any prayers in which a whole 
assembly, or any considerable number of worshippers unite. 
Generally each one prays by himself, and the object of his 
prayer is known only to himself. Hymns in praise of the differ- 
ent gods are not uncommon ; they are sung, or played on rude 

, * 1 Cor. 10: 20. f Matt. 6: 7. 



404 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

instruments by devotees and travelling minstrels, but they are 
seldom if ever used by congregations, or any considerable num- 
ber of persons assembled for worship. 

Vows to different gods are very frequently made, and if the 
contingency upon which they rest becomes fact, they are gen- 
erally performed. The Hindus are superstitious on the subject 
of fulfilling their vows. Vows not fulfilled, are believed to in- 
cur the displeasure of the gods, and to involve those who disre- 
gard them in ruin. Temples are often erected and repaned, 
pilgrimages to sacred places, costly offerings to the gods, and 
gifts to the brahmins, are often made in consequence of vows.* 

Fasting, gifts to brahmins, the building of caravanserais, 
roads, tanks, etc., for the public good, are declared to be works 
of merit, and much money is often expended in this way. 
They think much of a man's name being incorporated with 
such works in public opinion. 

The hearing of the Pm-ans read and explained, is declared to 
be very meritorious. Many brahmins obtain then livehhood by 
reading and explaining these sacred works. For this purpose 
people assemble in the yard of a temple or some private house, 
when some man will read and explain some work in course, oc- 
cupying about an hour for several successive days. A certain 
compensation is generally promised at the beginning, and if the 
reader or lecturer finishes the course and gives satisfaction, he 
w^ill obtain some addition to it at the close. These meetings 
diffuse much information concerning then gods and heroes, and 
their actions. I have often been surprised at the information of 
people on these subjects, who unable themselves to read, have 

* Parents sometimes devote one or more of their cMldren to some deity by 
vows. For instance, the children in some family are perhaps sick of cholera; 
and appear likely to die. The parents in their anxiety make a vow to some 
god, that if all the children recover, they will devote one child to him. The 
child thus devoted is generally a girl. When the time arrives for fulfilling the 
vow, she is taken by her parents to the temple, and is married by the priest 
to the idol of the god. This ceremony is an introduction to a life of prostitu- 
tion under the name of being devoted to the god. The number of such women 
in some districts is large. Some of them live at the temple, assist in the cere- 
monies, etc., and others go wherever they please, but aU are devoted to a life of 
prostitution. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 405 

acquired all their knowledge at such public and social meet- 
ings. 

Some of the Hindu deities are malevolent, or if this is not 
their general character they are described as often indulging in 
envious, angry, morose, and malevolent feeUngs, and some of 
them in intemperance and licentiousness resemble Bacchus and 
Venus among the Greek and Roman deities. This diversity of 
conduct and character in the Hindu deities, furnishes excuses 
and reasons for any persons, who may wish to indulge in intem- 
perance and licentiousness ; for they can indulge in any kind of 
wickedness and yet be imitating some of their deities. Still, as 
such conduct would be opposed to all general opinions of pro- 
priety and morahty, it becomes necessary, if personal and social 
respectabUity are to be preserved, to indulge in such practices 
secretly. And there are meetings and associations for such con- 
duct under the name and profession of rehgion. These assem- 
bhes consist of men and women who meet in the night and 
indulge in Hcentiousness, intermixed with rehgious rites and cer- 
emonies. At these meetings aU distinctions of caste, and all 
sentiments of morality, propriety, and decency, are laid aside ; 
forbidden things are freely eaten and drunken, passions are 
indulged and actions are performed without any sense of shame, 
scruples of conscience or fear of consequences, which show the 
depravity of human nature in union with the degradmg influ- 
ences of superstition and heathenism. Instead of describing 
such practices and rites it is better to apply to them the lan- 
guage which the Apostle used when speaking of the heathen 
nations in ancient times — " It is a shame even to speak of 
those things which are done of them in secret." * 

ASCETICISM, ASCETICS, AND DEVOTEES. 

This state or course of life originated in the doctrine that the 
soul is incorporated with matter, and that the great work of life 
is for the soul to obtain emancipation from this matter, and re- 
union with the supreme Deity. This end, it is supposed, may 
be attained by mortifying and subduing all those appetites and 

* Eph. 5 : 12. 



406 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

passions which are believed to have their seat in matter, or in 
the body. The Institutes of Menu, a work written 10 or 12 
centuries before the Christian era, contams the following direc- 
tions to brahmins : — " When the father of a family perceives 
his muscles become flaccid and his hair grey, and sees the child 
of his child, let him then seek refuge in a forest. Abandoning 
all food eaten in towns, and all his household utensils, let him 
repair to the lonely wood, committing the care of his wife to his 
sons, or accompanied by her if she choose to attend him. Let him 
take up his consecrated fire, and all his domestic implements of 
maldng oblations to it, and departing from the town to the for- 
est, let him dwell in it with complete power over his organs of 
sense and action. With many sorts of pure food, such as holy 
sages used to eat, with green herbs, roots, and fruit, let him per- 
form the five great sacraments, introducing them with due cere- 
monies. Let him wear a black antelope's hide, or a vesture of 
bark ; let him bathe morning and evening ; let him suffer the 
hairs of his head, his beard, and his nails to grow continually. 
From such food as he may eat, let him to the utmost of his 
power make offerings and give alms ; and with presents of wa- 
ter, roots, and fruit, let him honor those who may visit his her- 
mitage. Let him be constantly engaged in reading the Vedas, 
patient of aU extremities, universally benevolent, with a mind 
intent on the Supreme Being, a perpetual giver, but no receiver 
of gifts, with tender affection for all animated bodies. Let him 
slide backwards and forwards on the ground, or let him stand a 
whole day on tiptoe, or let him continue in motion rising and 
sitting alternately ; but at sunrise, noon, and sunset, let him go 
to the water and bathe. In the hot season let him sit exposed 
to five fires, four blazing around him with the sun above ; in 
the rainy season let him stand uncovered without even a mantle, 
and where the clouds pour down the heaviest showers ; in the 
cold season let him wear a humid vesture, and let him increase 
by degrees the austerity of his devotion. Then, having reposited 
his holy fires as the law directs in his mind, let him Hve without 
external fire, without a mansion, wholly silent, feeding on roots 
and fruits. Or he may bring food from a town, having re- 
ceived it in a basket of leaves, in his naked hand, or jn a pot- 
sherd, and then let him swallow eight mouthfuls. A brahmin 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 407 

becoming void of sorrow and fear, and having shuffled off his 
body by any of those modes which great sages have practised, 
rises to exaltation in the divine essence." 

Such is the mode prescribed" by the highest authority for ob- 
taining complete and final beatitude. These directions may 
have been followed in the early and purer ages of the Hindu 
religion, but they are now seldom if ever regarded by the class 
referred to, namely, fathers of families, whose muscles have 
become flaccid, their hair grey, and who have seen their children's 
children. The ascetics of the present age generally become 
such early in life, choosing this course as an easy and respecta- 
ble way of procuring a HveUhood. They are originally of all 
castes, and are divided into different classes or orders, as the gos- 
avees, sunyasees, vyragees, etc. Few of them are learned and 
some cannot even read. Some classes marry and have famihes. 
Others live a single life. These generally roam about the coun- 
try, stopping only a few days in one place. They generally live 
in the temples, which are always open to them. They assemble 
in large numbers in places of pilgrimage. Some pass their Kves 
in visiting the holy places, begging their support on the way. 
They go nearly destitute of clothing, their hair, beard, and naUs 
are long, their bodies are almost naked and covered with ashes, 
and their whole appearance is hideous and disgusting. Their 
professed work is to subdue their appetites and passions, and to 
spend their time in religious rites and in meditation on divine 
things. But instead of this course, their time is spent in idle 
talli, in smoldng and chewing intoxicating and narcotic sub- 
stances, and in sleep. They are exceedingly irritable and impu- 
dent, have a ready use of abusive language, and have generally 
the character of being licentious. The Hindus generally appear 
to have but little respect for them, and often show contempt for 
their rehgious profession and character. But they have super- 
stitious fears of incurring their displeasure and of their abusive 
language, while their maledictions and execrations are much 
dreaded. People generally have some superstitious notion and 
apprehension that the curses of such devotees cause or forebode 
evil. Some devotees inflict upon themselves tortures of various 
kinds, as lying on spikes, holding their hmbs in one position till 
they become incapable of moving them, etc. I have often seen 



408 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and conversed with such persons. I believe these tortures are 
seldom inflicted on account of any consciousness of guilt, or to 
atone for any offence, and seldom, if ever, Avith a view of acquir- 
ing merit. I believe these classes of men become ascetics and 
devotees, because it appears to be an easy and respectable way 
of obtaining a livelihood, and that they inflict these pains and 
tortures upon themselves to obtain respect, money, etc. The num- 
ber of brahmins and diflerent classes of devotees, who subsist by 
begging in India, is very large, and their support and the various 
evils resulting from these classes are among the burdens which the 
inhabitants of that oppressed and unhappy country have to en- 
dure. Some of the more enlightened Hindus would be glad to 
see these classes of people compelled to labor in some way for 
their support ; they would approve of the government's using 
some measures of this kind. But such is not yet the feeling of 
the great body of the people. There appears to be no remedy 
but a more generally diflused and enlightened pubKc sentiment 
for the numerous evils which have for so many centuries afflicted 
the inhabitants of this unhappy country. The darkness will 
continue to brood over it till the Sun of E-ighteousness shall arise 
and dispel its gloom by his cheerful beams. 

THE FUTURE STATE. 

The Hindu sacred books describe several different degrees 
or states of happiness for mankind after death. Of these 
the highest state is called Mooktee, and consists of union 
with the Deity, or absorption into the infinite Spirit. This state 
is the result or reward of attaining divine knowledge. As soon 
as any man acquires a perfect knowledge of Bramh, it over- 
comes or extinguishes all sin within him, and its influence upon 
him ; he disregards all work, however meritorious in general opin- 
ion, and emancipated from all worldly desires and bodily pas- 
sions his spirit becomes united with Bramh, or is absorbed into 
him, " as a drop of water when it falls into the ocean." He 
loses all personal identity. He is no longer, and never will again 
be, a conscious and separate being, and so is not subject to any 
further transmigration or change. And yet this is the highest 
state to which brahminism aspires, or holds out to its votaries, 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 409 

and the means of attaining this state are so exceedingly difficult 
that only a very small proportion strive for it, and they live and 
die in the utmost uncertainty of it. 

The next state is for those who earnestly sought this divine 
wisdom, this perfect knowledge of Bramh, but died before attain- 
ing it. Such persons after death are taken to the peculiar resi- 
dence of Bramh to dwell near him. They are there endowed 
with great capacity for. enjoyment, can exercise some superhu- 
man powers, and " can assume many bodies or only one, as a 
lamp can nourish more than one wick." But as they are not 
yet prepared to become united with Bramh, another birth at 
some future time wiU be necessary. The general belief is that 
after a period proportioned to the moral character they have 
acquu-ed, they will descend to the earth and have another birth 
in the brahminical caste, or in very favorable circumstances for 
perfecting their knowledge of Bramh, the work which was inter- 
rupted by death. 

The 3rd and 4th states of happiness are in the heaven or 
abode of the gods called Swurg. Some few persons who in this 
life have performed works of extraordinary merit, after death 
proceed to Sivurg and reside there till the close of the present 
kalpa, when Sivurg and all its residents, whether gods or saints, 
wiU be annihilated. Those whose works in this life have a less 
degree of merit, will only reside in Sivurg till such merit has been 
exhausted, and must then return to the earth to assume another 
birth. The Shastras say that Yama, one of the gods, is the 
judge of manldnd after death. His court is on the south-east 
side of the earth. He has an assistant whose name is Chitragupt, 
and he has also many messengers who conduct souls when they 
leave the body to his court for judgment. Those who have per- 
formed works of merit in life, are conducted along excellent 
roads to Yama's court. Heavenly courtesans are now and then 
seen singing and dancing, and are heard chanting the praises 
of other gods. Showers of flowers fall from heaven. Near the 
road are houses containing cool water and excellent food. There 
are pools of water covered with lilies, and trees diffusing fra- 
grance and giving shade. The gods are seen moving about on 
horses and elephants with splendid canopies over them. Or 
they are in palanquins and chariots with attendants waiting 

35 



410 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

upon them and singing their praises. Some of them appear so 
beautiful and dazzling by the glory issuing from them, that they 
can scarcely be contemplated. Yama receives the virtuous with 
much kindness and respect. He gives them excellent food and 
says, " Your works have been very meritorious ; you have been 
wise, and for the merit of your deeds you shall ascend to great 
happiness. He who performs such meritorious works is my 
father, my brother, my friend." 

The place where such are to enjoy the rewards of their meri- 
torious conduct, is the paradise or heaven of the gods on mount 
Meru or Sumeru. On this mount which, in shape like an in- 
verted cone, is believed to be 600,000 mUes high, 128,000 miles 
in cncumference at the base, and 256,000 miles at the top, the 
most prominent of the gods have each their separate place of 
residence or heaven. These places are described in the Purans 
in truly oriental style, and correspond to other parts of the 
Hindu religion. They are inhabited by the gods and goddesses 
and by many other beings, as musicians, courtesans, etc. These 
places are described as abounding with means and facilities for 
all kinds of amusements and sensual pleasures. Quarrels, in- 
trigues, gambling, drinldng, revehy, lewdness, etc., are among 
their occupations, pursuits, and pleasures. Persons who have 
acquired merit, or the merit of whose works exceeded their de- 
merit in life, are admitted according to its degree to these differ- 
ent places and pleasures, and when the merit of their actions is 
exhausted, they must return to the earth again there to assume 
another birth. 

A far different state awaits the wicked after death. They 
have to travel 688,000 miles to the court of Yama. In some 
places the road consists of stones, mud, and sand, burning hot. 
Showers of sharp instruments, burning cinders, and scalding 
water fall upon them. They fall into concealed weUs, grope 
their way through darkness, and meet tigers and other dreaded 
animals. They proceed naked, their hair disordered, their lips 
and throats parched with thirst. They are covered with blood, 
they weep, wail, and shriek with pain and horror. They are hur- 
ried along, sometimes dragged, manacled, and unmercifully 
beaten by the messengers of Yama. At length they arrive at 
the court of Yama, whose appearance is terrible, his height is 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 411 

240 miles, the hairs of his body are as long as a palm-tree, his 
voice is as loud as thunder, his eyes send out flames of fire, 
the noise of his breathing is like a roaring tempest, etc. His 
conduct towards them corresponds to his terrible appearance. 
Inquiry is made respecting their actions, etc., in life, and they 
are then driven from his court to suffer each his merited punish- 
ment in the different hells. — No wonder that the Hindus have a 
great dread of death. 

Much is said in the Shastras of the future punishment of the 
wicked. One Puran says there are 100,000 different places or 
hells, in which punishments of different kinds and in different 
degrees are inflicted. Some of these hells are described : — One 
is a hell of utter darkness ; another of utter darkness and horrid 
animals ; another of burning oil ; another of burning metal ; in 
another the wicked are continually eaten by worms and other 
reptiles ; in another they are tormented by redhot instruments and 
weapons applied to different parts of the body, etc. The pun- 
ishments which are inflicted for particular crimes, as murder, 
adultery, stealing, perjury, etc., are described, and more homble 
punishments cannot be conceived. For instance, " He who dis- 
regards the Vedas and brahmins is to be punished in a hell of 
burning metal for 3,500,000 years." " The brahmin, brahminee, 
brahmacharee, vaishna, or king, who drinks spirits, shall be 
thrown into pans of liquid fire." 

It is not uncommon to see Hindu lecturers with long pieces 
of cloth upon which are delineated in glowing colors, the 
pleasures to be enjoyed in the different heavens as the reward 
of virtuous actions, and the punishments to be inflicted in the 
different hells for particular crimes. The preacher dehvers a lec- 
tm-e on the future state of the good and of the bad, unrolling 
these cloths and illustrating his statements and enforcing his 
exhortations by exhibiting and explaining these delineations. 
Such lectures are interesting to the people and produce a strong 
effect on their feelings. 

THE TKANSMIGEATION OF SOULS. 

Metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls, is a promi- 
nent doctrine of the Hindu rehgion. The Shastras teach that 



412 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

the spirits of all mankind were among the things which were 
created several milhons of years ago, and that they have ever 
since existed in some state or place in the universe. So the 
spkit of every human being has been in existence for several 
millions of years. But in what state, or where he has existed, 
what good or evil he has done, what happiness he has enjoyed, 
or what misery he has endured, no one knows, for no remem- 
brance of any previous existence ever remains from one birth 
to another. After death and the judgment, the reward of the 
good actions having been enjoyed, and the punishment of the 
bad actions having been endured, — or, as some say, the excess 
of the good above the bad having been enjoyed, or the excess 
of the evil above the good having been suffered, as the charac- 
ter of each person may be, — the spirit returns again to the earth 
for a new birth.* Some of the Purans say, and such appears to 
be the general opinion, that each spirit must go through a great 
number of bhths, (some say 8,400,000,) before it again assumes 
a human form. During this long period it may exist in min- 
erals and vegetables, (for the Hindus beheve these substances 
are sentient beings,) or in insects, or reptiles, or fishes, or fowls, 
or animals, till the cycle shall be completed for it again to 
assume or enter a human form. 

The sacred books inform us what some of these bixths will be. 
" Sinners of the first degree, having passed through terrible rig- 
ors of tortm-e in hell for a very long period, are then con- 
demned to the following births: — The slayer of a brahmin 
must enter, according to the circumstances of his crime, the 
body of a dog, a boar, an ass, a camel, a bull, a goat, a sheep, 
a stag, or a bh'd. A brahmin who has drunk spirituous liquor, 
shall exist in the form of a worm, or an insect, or a moth, ox a 
fly feeding on ordure, or a ravenous animal. If a man steal corn, 
he shall be born a rat. K he steal milk, he shall exist in the form 
of a crow. If a man censures his spiritual guide, he shall be born 

* Some Purans say that each spirit after hearing its sentence from Tama, 
•wanders about the earth an serial being or ghost for one j-ear, and then takes a 
body suited to his future condition, whether he is to ascend into the heavens to 
the gods, or to suffer in hell, or to enter at once into another body. But we are 
not to look for consistency in works which contain so much that is unreasonable, 
absurd, and utterly incredible. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 413 

an ass ; if he defame him, he shall be born a dog ; if he use his 
thmgs without leave, he shall be born a worm. If a man violates 
the bed of his natural or spmtual father, he shall migrate a hun- 
dred times into forms of gra^s, or of shrubs, or creeping and 
twining plants, of vultures, and of tigers, and other carnivorous 
animals. If a man steal the gold of a priest, he shaU pass a thou- 
sand times into the bodies of spiders, of reptiles, and snakes, of 
crocodiles, and other monsters hving in the water, or of demons 
living on blood." " As far as vital souls, addicted to sensuality, 
indulge themselves in forbidden pleasures, even to the same de- 
gree shall the acuteness of their senses be raised in their future 
bodies, that they may endure analogous pains. They shaU first 
have sensations of agony as in tamisra, or utter darkness, and in 
other places of horror. Multifarious tortures await them ; they 
shall be mangled by ravens and owls ; they shall swallow cakes 
boiling hot ; they shall walk over burning sands, and shall feel 
the pangs of being baked lilte the vessel of a potter. They 
shall assume the form of beasts and reptiles, continually misera- 
ble, and suffer alternate afflictions from extremities of cold and 
of heat, surrounded with terrors of various Idnds. More than 
once shall they lie in different wombs, and after agonizing births 
be condemned to severe captivity, and to servUe attendance on 
creatures like themselves. Then shall follow separations from 
kindred and friends ; forced residence with the wicked ; painful 
gains and ruinous losses of wealth ; friendships hardly acquired, 
and at length changed into enmities. Old age without resource, 
diseases attended with anguish, pangs of innumerable sorts, and 
lastly unconquerable death." One chapter in Menu, contains 
266 specifications of crimes, penances, and expiations, but more 
instances of what the Hindus expect and dread in the future 
state need not be given. 

TMs doctrine of previous and future births, appears to have 
been devised or assumed to account for the different state and 
circumstances in which people are born, for the perverse disposi- 
tion some persons appear naturally to possess, for the prosperity, 
success, and happiness some bad men enjoy, and for the misfor- 
tunes, losses, and afflictions of some good men.* The only 

* Menu says, " Men are born stupid, dumb, blind, deaf, and deformed, to be 
despised by the good, according to tlie various actions they have performed. 

35* 



414 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

way they saw of reconciling these things with the justice of 
God and his providence over the human family, was in the sup- 
position or belief that the causes of these things were laid in 
some former state of existence, and that the consequences of 
others would be realized in some state after death. This opin- 
ion has in various ways an unhappy influence upon the conduct 
and character of the Hindus. The actions of the former states 
or births, are beheved to determine the events of the present state 
of existence, and so this life is the destiny of the past, — is fixed 
beyond human control, or divine interference. This opinion is a 
kind of fatahsm, and in some respects, of the worst kind, because 
while it regards things as existing and events as occurring neces- 
sarily, it m.akes them the consequence of actions in a previous 
state. If any are born blind or deformed, or become blind, or dis- 
eased, or are afflicted in any way, or suffer losses and calamities, 
these tilings are ascribed to sins committed in some former state, 
and this opinion that such persons are only suffering the merited 
consequences of their own bad conduct diminishes, if it 
does not destroy sympathy with and pity towards them in their 
afflictions. I have heard Hindus of reputed sanctity speak thus 
to persons suffering from blindness, leprosy, etc. And such 
opinions and sayings are not limited to afflictions, misfortunes, 
and losses, which come in the course of divine providence. 
These opinions are often expressed concerning wicked conduct 
and its punishment, that such sinful actions and the punish- 
ments to be suffered for them, are only the necessary conse- 

Penance must therefore Invariably be performed to make expiation, since thej 
■wlio have not expiated their sins, wUl again spring to birth with disgraceful 
marks." 

This opinion existed in India as early as the reign of Solomon in Jerusalem, 
and it was taught by Pythagoras, in Greece, some centuries before the Chris- 
tian era. So it must have become well known to the Jews, and probably sug- 
gested to the disciples the inquiry they made of our Saviour on seeing a man 
who was blind from his birth, namely, " Master, who did sin, this man, or his 
parents, that he was born blind ? Jesus answered. Neither hath this man sin- 
ned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest 
in him." John 9 : 1-3. That Is, this man's natural blindness, or his being 
born blind was not owing to any sin which he or his parents had committed. 
The disciples must have referred to the man's having committed sin in some 
previous state, and so as a punishment for It he was born blind. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 415 

quence of former sinful actions. Such opinions are regarded 
as an excuse for sins in the feelings of those who commit them, 
and in the view of others concerning them. So also in respect 
to prosperity. K any one is seen to have remarkable success 
in any kind of business, it is ascribed to the merit of actions 
performed in a previous birth. Such is the common sentunent. 
Such opinions have a natural tendency to prevent aU grati- 
tude and thankfulness to any divine being for any favors or 
blessings. They also prevent any sense of guilt and penitence 
for sill, as weU as feeUngs of shame when suffering punish- 
ment for sinful actions. They invest the affau's of this life with 
a kind of fatality, and produce feehngs of indifference and de- 
spondency. And what can be a more gloomy and degrading 
view of the future world than the prospect of passing through 
millions of births of different kinds of animals, or of any Idnd 
of animals, and after attaining one human birth to pursue the 
same cycle again ? And this is the prospect and the hope that 
brahminism presents to its votaries.* 

* The Hindus show their faith in this docti'ine of the transmigration of souls 
by their works. The early European travellers in India mention seeing in Surat 
and Broach, Institutions for the relief and support of old animals, as horses, 
cows, etc. These institutions, with the decline of the commerce and manufac- 
tures of those cities also declined, and not unlikely they have become extinct. 
But Bombay, which has succeeded those cities In the commerce of western India, 
contains a similar monument of the faith and piety of the same class of the people. 
Motechund Amichund, a wealthy merchant, commenced an institution similar to 
those above mentioned, by giving a large and valuable piece of land with build- 
ings upon It for this purpose. His family and a large circle of friends engaged 
heartily In the cause. Large accommodations and conveniences were provided. 
The superintendence of the Institution was assumed by a committee of manao'e- 
ment, and it has been in vigorous operation for many years. Horses and cattle 
of all kinds which have become old or maimed and are of no further use, sheep, 
goats, dogs, etc., are admitted, and well supported. Some of these are re- 
moved from time to time to a branch Institution In the countiy, where the expense 
of supporting them is less than It Is In the city. I often visited this Institution, 
generally In company with friends who were strangers In the city and wished to 
see It, and having become acquainted with some persons connected with it, I 
several times made Inquiries concerning the expenses and was told that they 
varied from 50 to 100 dollars per day, a sum which did not appear large In view 
of the extent of the institution and the number of creatures supported in It. 



416 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



SUTTEE. 

Suttee is the name given to the act of a woman immolating 
herself upon the funeral pUe with the body of her deceased hus- 
band. This practice was of very early origin. It is men- 
tioned in the Vedas and other sacred books.* If not positively 
commanded, it is yet strongly recommended. The highest re- 
wards are promised to those who thus sacrifice themselves, and 
their sacred history contains examples wiiich exhibit it as the 
liighest virtue. Krishna is beheved to be the most complete in- 
carnation of Vishnu, and they worship him more than aU the 
other incarnations. And of Krishna's numerous wives, eight 
burnt themselves upon the funeral pUe. 

Thus recommended it is not strange that Suttees should be 
frequent among a people who practise polygamy, and where 
widowhood is a state of disgrace ; and it is not strange that no 

* The Eig Veda says : — " O fire, let the ■women with bodies anointed with 
butter, eyes covered with collyrium, and void of tears, enter thee, that they may 
not be separated from their husbands, but may be in union with excellent hus- 
bands, and be sinless, and jewels among women." The following are extracts 
from other sacred books, and writers of high authority : — " The woman who as- 
cends the funeral pUe with her husband will remain as many years with him in 
heaven as there are hairs on the human body. — The woman who expires on 
the funeral pile with her husband, purifies the farmly of her father, her mother, 
and her husband. — Should the husband have been guilty of kUling a brahmin, or 
of murdering his friend, his widow by burning herself with him, purifies him 
from sin. — There is no virtue greater than a virtuous woman's burning her- 
self with her husband. — No greater duty is known for a virtuous woman than 
to burn herself with the body of her deceased husband. — As long as a woman 
in her successive transmigrations shall decline burning herself like a faithful 
wife in the same fire with her deceased lord, so long shaU she not be exempted 
from springing again into life in the body of some female animal. — It is proper 
for a woman, after her husband's death, to burn herself in the fire with his 
coi'pse ; and every woman who thus burns herself shall remain in paradise with 
her husband three croses and fifty lacs (35,000,000) of years. — If the wife be 
within one day's journey of the place where the husband died, and intimate 
her wish to burn with him, the burning of his corpse shall be delayed till her ar- 
rival. — If the husband be out of the country when he dies, let the virtuous 
wife take his slippers, or any thing else which belongs to his dress, and binding 
them upon her breast, enter a separate fire." Numerous passages like these 
might be given. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 417 

Hindu government ever interfered, so far as is known, to pre- 
vent it. Indeed, so far from this, the practice was chiefly among 
kings, princes, brahmins, and the wealthy. The emperor Acber 
made a law forbidding this practice in the 15th century. I am 
not certain whether any other Mohammedan emperors or princes 
ever interfered with it. The rite appears to have been practised 
more or less in all parts of India, when they became known to 
Europeans. The practice was more frequent in Bengal and the 
districts on the Ganges, than in other parts of the country. No 
records of such acts were ever preserved by any Hindu or Mo- 
hammedan government, nor do any native authors contain any 
estimate of the number who thus immolated themselves. Dr. 
Carey appears to have been the first who made efforts to ascer- 
tain the extent of this practice in Bengal, and he found that the 
number of widows who perished in this way, within 30 miles 
of Calcutta, in 1803, was 438. In 1817 the number of cases 
officially reported to the magistrate in Bengal, was 706. In 
1818 the number was 839, thus making 1,545 in 2 years. The 
number which took place in Bengal from 1815-1826, or for 12 
years, as officially reported to the EngHsh magistrates, was 
7,154. This number includes only those which took place in 
Bengal. There was no means of ascertaining the whole num- 
ber of cases in the country. Mr. W. "Ward estimated them at 
3,000 annually. 

The first interference of the English government with this 
practice was in 1813, when a law was enacted, forbidding its 
taking place without the consent of the local magistrate, who 
was requned to ascertain whether it was entirely voluntary on 
the part of the woman, and that no improper means had been 
used to induce her to decide on such an act. If the magistrate 
on inquiry became satisfied that the purpose was voluntanly 
formed, and that no improper means had been used to persuade 
or induce her to make such a choice, he was then to give his 
consent. K any Suttee took place without the consent of the 
magistrate, those who assisted in it were punishable, and no 
woman could burn herself with the prescribed formalities and 
ceremonies without the aid of brahmins to assist her and per- 
form some of the ceremonies for her. Such continued to be the 
law and practice for 16 years. Probably this law did not much, 



418 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

if any, diminish the number of Suttees, while it gave the con- 
sent and apparent approbation of the government to eveiy one 
that did take place in territories where this law was in force. 

In 1829, Lord WiUiam Bentinck, then governor-general of 
India, enacted a law declaring all assistance, aid, or participation 
in any act of Suttee, to be murder, and punishable as such. 
This law was at first applicable only to Bengal, but it was soon 
extended over aH the territories subject to the East India Com- 
pany. And from that tune as often as new treaties were made 
or old treaties renewed with any of the native princes, the Eng- 
lish governors and agents have endeavored to make the abolition 
of Suttees one of the articles and conditions of such treaties. It 
has been found much easier to carry this principle into effect in 
their regulations, arrangements and agreements, with the na- 
tive prmces than was expected. Thus this horrid practice, after 
continuing for more than 3,000 years, has ceased in nearly if not 
quite aU India. Still watchfulness is required m many places 
to prevent it. Only a fear of punishment deters many from en- 
couraging it, and the practice would soon be revived again in 
many places, if the native princes, the brahmins, and others of 
high caste, were not fearful of the consequences of violating the 
treaties and laws which forbid it. 

The first interference of the Enghsh government with Suttee 
by the law of 1813, did not excite much attention among the 
native population. But it was far otherwise with the law of 
1829. This law soon excited feelings of strong opposition. 
Happily the native community in Calcutta were divided upon 
the subject. The celebrated Ram Mohun Roy and some others 
were in favor of abohshing Suttees, and used their influence to 
support the measures of the government. But the great body 
of the brahmins and other castes clamored against it, as an in- 
terference with their rehgion. They called pubhc meetings, 
appealed to their countrymen in their journals, and subscribing 
a large sum of money they sent an agent to England to procure 
the repeal of the law. But their efforts were unavailing, and 
the excitement soon passed away. 

The rite or practice of Suttee is one of the darkest features 
of the Hindu religion. It probably commenced as early as the 
origin of the Vedas, that is 14 or 15 centuries before the Chris- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 419 

tian era, and continued till stopped in the manner abeady men- 
tioned a few years ago, thus contmuing through a period of more 
than 3,000 years. Such a practice must be shocldng in any 
countiy, but some customs in India made it peculiarly so there. 
One of these customs is the early age at which females are gen- 
erally married, often when they are not more than 7 or 8 years 
old, and among the brahmins it must be before they are 11 years 
old, though they do not live with their husbands tiU they arrive 
at a state of puberty. Many of these married girls become 
widows before they arrive at adult age, and among the Suttees 
were many such girls and young women. The custom of polyg- 
amy also often made this custom of Suttee peculiarly shocking. 
At the death of a prince, or a kuleen brahmin, or a wealthy man 
who had many wives, several of them were often burned with 
his dead body. Instances are recorded of 5, 10, 15, 25, and 
even more, who thus sacrificed themselves. It is said of Krishna, 
the most celebrated and the most worshipped of all the incarna- 
tions of Vishnu, that 8 of his wives immolated themselves upon 
his funeral pile. What an example did this supposed deity and 
his family present ! The scenes which such funerals as have 
often occurred since the present century commenced, and as 
some people yet living have seen, must have been shocking be- 
yond description. And such sacrifices are highly commended, 
if not positively commanded in the sacred books of the Hindus, 
and they are declared to be the hoKest and most meritorious 
deeds that can be performed. 

SUICIDE, MURDER, AND HUMAN SACRIFICES. 

« 

Brahminism, in its polytheism and mythology, its gods, god- 
desses, and demons, furnishes a warrant and example for every 
kind of enormity, iniquity, and fanaticism. Some of the cruel 
and unnatural usages of the Hindus originated in their religion, 
and some which originated in depravity, through the influence 
of superstition, soon assumed a rehgious character. Other usages 
originated in pride, lust, and avarice ; yet men will always as 
far as possible conceal the true nature of their vices, and cause 
their iniquity to assume the appearance of piety. And unhap- 
pily some of the Hindu deities are of such a character that men 



420 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

may commit almost every kind of wickedness, and in this very 
conduct refer to the example and claim the protection of some 
of these deities. 

Among the sacred places in the eastern part of India is San- 
ger, which is near the mouth of the Ganges. The people of 
that distiict were in the habit of maldng vows in times of sick- 
ness and distress to devote a chUd or children to some deity, 
and these vows were fulfilled by placing the children on the 
shore, or throwdng them into the water, where they were soon 
devoured by crocodiles and sharks. At times of pilgrimage to 
Saugor these murders were frequent, and 23 such cases were 
perpetrated there in one month in 1801. The cases amounted 
to 39 in the course of the year. The next year the Marquis of 
Wellesley, then governor-general, passed a law " declaring this 
practice to be murder punishable with death.'' The law was 
promulgated, and a police force was stationed on the place. 
This measure entirely prevented the practice, and in a few years 
the people showed no desire to continue it. Dr. Buchanan, who 
was then living in Bengal, says : — "It is impossible to calculate 
the number of human lives which have been saved by this hu- 
mane law of Marquis Wellesley." 

The Hhidus were accustomed to commit suicide in their 
sacred places in the belief that having removed their sins by per- 
forming rites and ceremonies, if they should die there and at that 
time, they would attain to higher happiness than if they should 
live longer and then die in some other place. Allahabad was 
one of these sacred places. An English officer saw 16 women 
drown themselves there at once, and Dr. B. saw 12 men drown 
themselves in a similar manner in one day.* To effect this self- 
destruction in the prescribed way it was necessary to have brah- 
mins to perform the required rites and ceremonies, and also to 
have the aid of men with boats in order to reach the particular 
place in the river, where the act of drowning was so meritorious. 
These shocking practices were suppressed by making it a crime 

* " Each woman had her brahmin who accompanied her In a boat to the holy 
place in the river. A large earthen vessel Avas then slung over each shoulder ; 
she descended over the side of the boat into the water, and was held up by the 
brahmin till she had filled the vessels from the river, when he let go his hold 
and she sunk to the bottom." 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 421 

accessory to murder, to assist any one to perform the prepara- 
tory rites, or to reach the place in the river for drowning them- 
selves. This law miade self-destruction, in the manner required 
by the shastras, impossible. 

The Hindu sacred books in many places encourage self-im- 
molation, and describe such acts as devotion of the highest kind, 
and most acceptable to the deities. Formerly such acts were of 
frequent occurrence in different sacred places. The manner of 
self-destruction varied according to the usage of the place and 
the character of the deity to be propitiated. Sometimes it was 
by drowning, sometimes by leaping from the top of the temple, 
or some tree or precipice, sometimes the devotee would prostrate 
himself before the idol and calling upon the god kill himself 
with some weapon, and sometimes he would throw himself 
under the wheels of the car of the god, and be crushed to 
death. 

The English government has endeavored in many ways to pre- 
vent such acts. But no government can entirely prevent them, 
any more than governments in America can prevent suicide. K 
men or women have deliberately determined to devote them- 
selves to some deity by self-immolation, they will find some way 
of accomplishing their purpose. When the ponderous car of 
Juggunath or of any other god is moving along, drawn by hun- 
dreds of deluded worsMppers and surrounded by thousands of 
gazing and shouting spectators, if any man should suddenly 
throw himself under the wheels (as men sometimes do), no 
power or means can save him from death, any more than if the 
car was a locomotive engine going at its ordinary speed on a 
railway. 

Infanticide has been one of the barbarous and unnatural cus- 
toms of India from an early period of its history. This crime has 
been common among the rude tribes of the Goands and Khonds 
in Berar and Orissa, among the middling and educated classes in 
the valley of the Ganges, and among the Jahrejas and Rajpoots, 
the ancient nobility of the country, in the north-west provinces. 
The rude and unciviUzed tribes have murdered their female 
children at birth to get rid of the care and trouble of bringing 
them up, and the middling and higher classes have done the 
same fr-om inability to form suitable marriage connections for 

36 



422 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

them when grown up. The English governors and agents in 
India have done ah they could to suppress this shocking cus- 
tom. They have made it a crime, and inflicted merited punish- 
ment for it in aU the territories subject to them. To the rude 
tribes which are but partially subject to then government, they 
have promised rewards and used such other means as appeared 
most likely to be effectual. With the Jahrejas and Eejpoots 
they have tried to put a stop to infanticide, as they did to Sut- 
tees, by treaties, agreements, personal influence, etc. These 
means have had considerable influence in diminishing the prac- 
tice, and aU classes now know how the English governors and 
agents regard this custom, and not knowing what the conse- 
quence may be, they are more secret in what they do. No 
doubt the hves of thousands of infants have been preserved by 
these means. But it appears from some late accounts that the 
practice is still contmued in some districts and among some 
tribes to a shocking extent. The English will no doubt con- 
tinue to use their power and influence in this work of humanity 
and with some success. But I believe the only effectual and 
final remedy for this unnatural practice is to be found in the hu- 
manizmg and enlightening influence of Christianity, in refining 
the domestic relations, in cultivating the natural instincts and 
the duties of parents and children, in understanding the moral 
relations of all the human family to each other, in fully believ- 
ing the immortality of every human soul and the responsibility 
of all mankind to God as their Creator, Preserver, and final 
Judge. 

SeK-torture of various kinds enters largely into the Hindu 
notions of religion. Some profess to renounce the world, its 
comforts and its cares, and hve a life of voluntary, self-infiicted 
suffering in the hope of attaining absorption into the infinite 
Spirit, at death, and so escaping any future birth. Others in the 
hope of deUverance in some time of distress, or of obtaining 
some worldly good they are seeking, make vows to some god or 
goddess to inflict torture upon themselves. These tortm'es are 
of various Idnds, but among them there is none more frequent 
or more unreasonable than what is called in Enghsh hook-siving- 
ing. This Idnd of torture is practised in different parts of India, 
and in the fulfilment of vows made to different gods and god- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 423 

desses.* I am not aware that the government has interfered 
with these kinds of torture farther than to forbid their being- 
practised in certain public places. And the government has 
done the same in respect to soine other shocking and disgusting 
lands of torture, which some persons at certain times inflict 
upon themselves. People are often injured and sometimes die 
under these tortures, and probably the government will soon de- 
clare it to be a crime and punishable for any person to assist 
another in any such practices. They must then cease. 

The history of T/mg-g-ism shows the dark features of the 
Hindu character, and how their religious system can cover and 
sanction the most extreme depravity and wickedness. The 
Thugs are men who associate together to murder persons, gen- 
erally travellers, for their property. Their invariable practice 
was first to murder, then to conceal the body, and then to take 
possession of the property. The murder is always committed 
by strangling. For this work of death they are prepared by long 
and careful training, and are then initiated into it with many 
religious rites and ceremonies. They worship the goddess Kar- 
lee, and believe they are under her special protection. They 
invoke her aid to assist them to commit murder; they use 
only instruments and weapons which have been consecrated to 
her, and they devote to her a part of the property they obtain. 
They believe the rules and principles of their business to be of 
divine origin, that this work of murder and plunder is their 
proper business, that the signs and omens they observe are indi- 
cations of the wiU of their goddess, and that so long as they ob- 
serve these signs and omens, and so obey her, they are sure of 

* There are two "ways of practising or suffering this torture. One Is when a 
pole 20 or 25 feet long Is set upright, one end In the ground and upon the other 
end another and generally much longer pole is placed transversely, and so ad- 
justed that it can be turned round. One end of the transverse pole is then 
brought down and two or three hooks are then inserted through the back of the 
victim and fastened to the pole. The end of the pole is then raised as high as 
it can be, and is swung round, often for some time, with the person or victim 
suspended by the hooks fastened to the elevated end of it. The other way is 
when the upright pole or post has its lower end placed upon the axle of a cart, 
wliich is then drawn round the temple, the victim suspended aloft as before 
described. I saw several persons (one of them was a woman) undergo this tor- 
ture of SM-inging on hooks, and I might often have seen it, had I wished. 



424 INDIA, ANCIENT- AND MODERN. 

having her favor and protection, and have nothing to fear. 
They live in different parts of the country, but easily become 
known to each other by secret signs. They associate in com- 
panies varying from a few individuals to a hundred or more. 
They are sometimes engaged for months in one enterprise, and 
in pursuing it wiU travel several hundred miles from their resi- 
dence. When their company is large, they often separate into 
small parties, and the better to carry on their nefarious work, 
some of them assume the character and appearance of mer- 
chants, some profess to be pilgrims, some to be common travel- 
lers, some to be masters, and others to be their servants, etc. 

The English did not become aware of the existence of the 
Thugs till about the beginning of this century, and several years 
passed away before they knew enough about them, and had 
sufScient possession of the country to enable them to engage in 
any measures to detect and punish them. A commission of 
well-qualified agents was at length appointed, and a course of 
investigation was prescribed for them. This course of inquiry 
was pursued for several years, and was carried into all parts of 
the country. They were found to be far more numerous than 
was expected, and the result disclosed an amount of wickedness 
mingled with superstition and cruelty, probably never before 
known in the history of the world. In ten years, 1,562 Thugs 
were arrested, imprisoned, and tried ; 328 were sentenced to 
death, 1,000 to transportation, 97 to limited periods of impris- 
onment, and from 25 security was required ; making 1,450 con- 
victed of participation in murder. Of the others who were ar- 
rested, 21 were acquitted, 11 escaped, 31 died before trial, and 
49 were admitted evidence for the prosecution. As most of 
these persons had been engaged for years, some of them for 40 
or 50 years, in committing murder and robbery, no calculation 
could be made of the number of victims who had suffered 
death at their hands. By these means the Thugs, as a class, 
have been broken up and dispersed. But they are far from being 
annihilated, and it wiU be necessary for the government to exer- 
cise great vigilance for many years to prevent their resuming 
their former atrocious business under the protection of then* yet 
more atrocious deity — the goddess Karlee. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 425 

It has been stated that the system called Brahminism was not 
the first religion of India, and that in some parts of the country 
it has exerted but little influence. There are tribes whose re- 
ligion has but little affinity with Brahminism, as found in its 
sacred books, its rites, and usages. Among these tribes the brah- 
mins have never become the officiating priests nor the religious 
teachers, and so there is reason to suppose their religion has con- 
tinued essentially unchanged for more than 2,000 years. For a 
long time these tribes, often living in the territories of the native 
princes, or occupying the thmly settled and less frequented parts 
of the country, avoiding intercourse with strangers, and reserved 
in communicating any information concerning their peculiar 
customs and manners, were little known to Europeans. Some 
tribes of this character occupy a district called Goomsur, in the 
northern part of the Madras territory, contiguous to Orissa, and 
have been commonly called Khonds. In 1836 one of the agents 
of the English government ascertained that human sacrifices 
were sometimes offered among these tribes, and in 1837 a mis- 
sionary fromOrissa having become acquainted with their religion, 
published some account of these sacrifices, in the Calcutta 
Christian Observer, which excited so much attention that the 
government appointed commissioners to visit the district and in- 
quire into the state and usages of the inhabitants. The result 
of these inquiries and researches was published, and showed that 
what was said long ago, is still true — " that the dark parts of 
the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." * 

It was found that these tribes had a very gross system of 
polytheism. Their principal deity was called the "earth-god- 
dess." They had also a sun-god, a moon-god, a war-god, a god 
of hunting, a god of births, a god of the smallpox, a god of 
rain, and many other gods. But the centre of this system and 
the principal object of worship was the earth-goddess, and the 
chief part of this worship consisted in human sacrifices. This 
goddess was beUeved to order the seasons, to send the rains, to 
cause the seed of aU kinds when put into the earth, to germinate 
and grow, to preserve people in health, or to afflict them with dis- 
ease, and to make their gardens and fields fruitful. She has 

* Psalm 74 : 20. 

36* 



426 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. > 

no fixed bodily form, but can assume any form at her pleasure. 
They make no image and erect no temple for her. Sacrifices of 
men and animals are offered to her. Human sacrifices are pri- 
vate and public. The former are to be offered when any par- 
ticular signs of her displeasure are discovered. The latter are 
• performed for the common good, but every man's land must re- 
ceive some portion of the flesh and blood of a victim at seed- 
time, and when the crops are gathered. Should there be any 
uncommon sickness among man or animals, a human sacrifice 
must be offered. And the same thing must be done if the Ab- 
baya (priest) or his family are sick, or his crops fail, as such 
affliction and loss are regarded as an indication of the displeas- 
ure of the goddess against all the people connected with him. 

These tribes were very averse to disclosing their religious 
practices and rites, and it was impossible to ascertain to what 
extent human sacrifices had been offered among them. It was 
found however that " in a small section of the country 300 or 
400 human beings were annually sacrificed." The English gov- 
ernment soon succeeded in rescuing several hundred persons 
from this horrid death. On one occasion 124 victims, aU des- 
tined to be sacrificed, were delivered up to the government 
agents. 

The printed reports of these agents contain particular accounts 
of the manner in which these horrid sacrifices were performed, 
not secretly but publicly, the whole tribe assembling together to 
witness the proceedings, and as far as possible take part in them. 
The agents have been pm-suing their humane work for several 
years with encouraging success. Great numbers of destined 
victims have been rescued from a horrid death, and at the latest 
accounts there appeared reason for hoping that few if any more 
victims would be sacrificed. 

The Hindu rehgion is thus graphically described by Mr. T. B. 
Macauley, the historian, who Kved several years in India : — 
" Through the whole Hindu Pantheon, you will look in vain for 
any thing resembling those beautiful and majestic forms which 
stood in the shrines of ancient Greece. All is hideous, grotesque, 
and ignoble. As this superstition is of aU superstitions the 
most irrational, and of aU superstitions the most inelegant, so is 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 427 

it of all superstitions the most immoral. Emblems of vice are 
objects of public worship. Acts of vice are acts of public wor- 
ship. The courtesans are as much a part of the establishment 
of the temple, as much mii^isters of the god as the priests. 
Crimes against life and crimes against property are not only per- 
mitted, but enjoined by this odious theology. But for our inter- 
ference, human victims would still be offered to the Ganges, and 
the widow would still be laid on the pile by the corpse of her 
husband and be burned alive by her own children. It is by the 
command and under the special protection of one of the most 
powerful goddesses that the Thugs join themselves to the unsus- 
pecting traveller, make friends with him, slip the noose round 
his neck, plunge thek knives into his eyes, liide him in the earth, 
and divide his money and baggage. I have read many exami- 
nations of the Thugs, and I particularly remember an altercation 
which took place between two of those wretches in the presence 
of an English officer. One Thug reproached the other for hav- 
ing been so irreligious as to spare the life of a traveller when the 
omens indicated that their patroness required a victim. ' How 
could you let him go ? How can you expect the goddess to pro- 
tect us if we disobey her commands ? That is one of your 
north-country heresies.' " 

The Hon. M. Elphinstone, who lived many years in India, 
thus closes his description of the Hindu deities and their rites 
and ceremonies : — " Such is the outline of the Hindu religion. 
To give a conception of its details, it would be necessary to 
relate some of the innumerable legends of which their mjrthol- 
ogy is composed ; the churning of the ocean by the gods and 
the asuras for the purpose of procuring the nectar of immortal- 
ity, and the subsequent stratagem by which the gods defrauded 
their coadjutors of the prize obtained ; the descent of the Gan- 
ges from heaven on the invocation of a saint ; its falling with 
violence on the head of Sheva, wandering for years amidst his 
matted locks, and tumbling at last in a mighty stream upon the 
earth with all its train of fishes, snakes, turtles, and crocodiles ; 
the production of Gunesh without any father by the intense 
desires of his mother Devi ; his temporary slaughter by Sheva 
who cut off his head and afterwards replaced it with that of an 
elephant, the first that came to hand in the emergency ; — such 



428 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODBEN. 

narratives with the quarrels of the gods, their occasional loves 
and jealousies ; their wars with men and demons ; their defeats, 
flights, and captivity ; their penances and austerities for the 
accomplishment of their wishes ; their speaking weapons ; the 
numerous forms they have assumed, and the delusions with 
which they have deceived the senses of those whom they wished 
to injure ; — all this would be necessary to show fully the relig- 
ious opinions of India, but would occupy a space for which the 
value of the matter would be a very inadequate compensation. 

" It may be sufficient to observe that the general character of 
these legends is extravagance and incongruity. The Greek gods 
were formed hke men with greatly increased powers and facul- 
ties, and acted as men would do, if so circumstanced, but with 
a dignity and energy suited to their nearer approach to perfec- 
tion. The Hindu gods, on the other hand, though endued with 
human passions, have always something monstrous in their 
appearance, and wild and capricious in their conduct. They are 
of various colors, red, yellow, and blue ; some have many heads 
and some have many hands. They are often angry without a 
cause, and reconciled without a motive. The same deity is 
sometimes powerful enough to destroy his enemies with a glance 
or to subdue them with a wish ; and at other times is obliged to 
assemble numerous armies to accomplish his purpose, and is 
very near faihng after all. 

" The powers of the three great gods are coequal, yet are ex- 
ercised with so little harmony, that in one of their disputes, 
Sheva cut off one of Brahma's heads. Neither is there any 
regular subordination of the other gods to the three or to each 
other. Indra, who is called the Idng of heaven and has been 
compared to Jupiter, has no authority over any of the rest. 
These and more incongruities arise in part from the desire of 
different sects to extol their favorite deity. But as the Purans 
are all of authority, it is impossible to separate legends founded 
on those writings from the general belief of all classes. With 
all this there is something in the gigantic scale of the Hindu 
gods, the original character of their sentiments and actions, 
and the peculiar forms in which they are clothed, and the 
splendor with which they are surrounded, that does not fail 
to make an impression upon the imagination. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 429 

" The most singular anomaly in the Hindu religion is the 
power of sacrifices and religious austerities. Through them a 
religious ascetic can inflict the severest calamities even upon 
a deity by Ms curse ; and the most wicked and most impious 
of mankind may acquire such an ascendency over the gods 
as to render them the passive instruments of his ambition, 
and even force them to submit their heaven and themselves 
to his sovereignty. Indra, on being cursed by a brahmin, was 
hurled from his own heaven and compelled to animate the body 
of a cat. Even Yama, the terrible judge of the dead, is said in 
a legend, to have been cursed for an act done in that capacity, 
and obhged to undergo a transmigration into the person of a 
slave. 

" The danger of all the gods from the sacrifices of one king, 
appeared in the fifth incarnation of Vishnu. Another king act- 
ually conquered the three worlds and forced the gods, except 
the tliree chief ones, to fly and conceal themselves under the 
shapes of difierent animals, while a third went still further, and 
compelled the god to worship him. 

" These are a few out of numerous instances of a similar 
natm'e, all doubtless invented to show the vktue of ritual ob- 
servances, and thus increase the consequence and the profits of 
the brahmins. But these are rather the traditions of former days, 
than the opinions by which men are now actuated in relation to 
the Divinity. The same objects which were formerly to be ex- 
torted by sacrifices and austerities, are now to be won by faith. 
The followers of this new principle look with scarcely less dis- 
guised contempt on the Vedas and aU the devotional exercises 
there enjoyed. As no refigion ever entirely discards morahty, 
they still inculcate purity of life and innocence, if not virtue, 
but the sole essential is dependence upon the particular god of 
the sect of the individual teacher. Implicit faith and reliance 
on him make up for all deficiencies in other respects, while no 
attention to the forms of refigion or to the rules of morality is 
of the sHghtest avail without this aU-important sentiment. 

" It is an uncommon though not an exclusive feature in the 
Hindu refigion, that the gods enjoy only a fimited existence. 
At the end of a cycle of prodigious duration, the universe ceases 
to exist ; the triad and aU the others, lose thek being, and the 



430 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

great first Cause remains alone in infinite space. After the 
lapse of ages his power is again exerted, and the whole creation, 
with all its divine and human inhabitants, rises once more into 
existence. 

" It only remains to say a few words on the belief of the 
Hindus relating to a future state. Their peculiar doctrine, as is 
well known, is transmigration ; but they believe that between 
their different stages of existence, they will, according to their 
merits, enjoy thousands of years of happiness in some of their 
heavens, or suffer torments of similar duration in some of their 
still more numerous heUs. Hope, however, seems to be denied 
to none. The most wicked man, after being purged of his 
crimes by ages of suffering, and by repeated transmigrations, 
may ascend in the scale of being until he may enter into heaven, 
and even attain the highest reward of all good, which is, incor- 
poration in the essence of God." 

Bishop Heber, who was some years in India and died there, 
says, " It is necessary to see idolatry, to be fully sensible of its 
mischievous effects upon the human mind. But of aU idolatries 
which I have ever read or heard of, the religion of the Hindus 
reaUy appears to me to be the worst, both in the degrading no- 
tions which it gives of the Deity ; in the endless round of its 
burdensome ceremonies, which occupy the time and distract the 
thoughts without either instructing, or interesting its votaries ; in 
the filthy acts of uncleanness and cruelty, not only permitted but 
enjoined and inseparably interwoven with these ceremonies ; in 
the systems of castes, a system which tends more than any thing 
else the devil has yet invented to destroy the feelings of general 
benevolence, and to make nine tenths of mankind the hopeless 
slaves of the remainder ; and in the total absence of any popu- 
lar system of morals, or any single lesson which the people at 
large ever hear, to live virtuously and do good to each other. I 
do not say, indeed, that there are not some scattered lessons of 
this kind to be found in their ancient books, but those books are 
not accessible to the people at large, nor are these last permitted 
to read them ; and in general, aU the sins that a shudra is taught 
to fear, are kiUing a cow, offending a brahmin, or neglecting one 
of the many frivolous rites by which their deities are supposed 
to be conciliated." 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 431 



LANGUAGES, LITERATURE, AND EDUCATION. 

The sacred books of the Hindus and all then- ancient litera- 
ture are in Sanscrit. This language has not been vernacular in 
India for several centuries past. But at some early period it 
must have been vernacular in the territory along the Ganges, 
and was probably understood in the north-west provinces. The 
Vedas are written in Sanscrit, and the Institutes of Menu (written 
in the same language) inculcate the daily reading of these works 
as one of the duties of the brahmins, the kshatryas, and the 
vaishyas, three of the fom- original Hindu castes. "We cannot 
reasonably suppose that this duty would have been inculcated, 
unless these classes of people understood the language of the 
Vedas, and they could not all understand it unless it was their 
vernacular language. 

Sanscrit became the depository of the brahminical system of 
religion, and of all the ancient Hindu literature, and it continued 
to be understood and written by the learned, as the Latin was in 
Europe, long after it had ceased to be vernacular with any 
class of people. The Sanscrit is a highly poKshed language. 
Sir William Jones says : — " It is a language of wonderful struc- 
ture, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, 
and more exquisitely refined than either." Halhed says : — "As 
a language it is very copious and nervous, and far exceeds the 
Greek and Arabic in the regularity of its etymology." Chezey 
calls it " the celebrated dialect, perhaps spoken by the gods of 
Homer ; if not, worthy to be so." Professor H. H. Wilson, pro- 
fessor of Sanscrit in Oxford University, says : " The music of 
Sanscrit composition must ever be inadequately expressed by 
any other tongue." Similar opinions have also been expressed 
by Adelung, Talboys, BournoufF, Bopp, and other distinguished 
orientahsts. 

The Sanscrit language has not been vernacular in any part of 
India for some centuries past, and there are no means of ascer- 
taining at what period it ceased to be used. It has continued to 
be studied, and some knowledge of it has always been regarded 
as necessary for the character of a weU-educated brahmin. Not 
only are aU then sacred books written in Sanscrit, but estab- 



432 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Hshed usage, if no higher authority, has made it necessary that 
all the rites and ceremonies of the Hindu religion should be per- 
formed in this language, just as the ritual and services of the 
Eoman CathoKc Clrarch are to be performed in Latin. So no 
brahmin can be qualified or competent, without some knowl- 
edge of the Sanscrit language, to perform the duties of a priest 
for his own nation. 

The Sanscrit language has been the repository from which 
nearly all the theological, scientific, and technical words and 
terms in the vernacular languages have been taken. And as 
these languages become cultivated, and new works of science 
and literature are produced in them, the new terms required in 
such works will be obtained as far as possible, from the Sanscrit. 
So this language, containing as it aheady does, and fmiiishing 
as it will in future, the most important words and terms in the 
vernacular languages, will long if not always, make an impor- 
tant and interesting part of a hberal education over all India. 

The Sanscrit language contains a large amount of Hterature, 
and great expectations were once entertained in Europe con- 
cerning its supposed value. This hterature has been examined 
so far as is necessary to ascertain its character and value, and 
the expectations once cherished have not been realized. The 
literature includes grammars, dictionaries, and works on many 
different subjects, but all are of but little practical value. In- 
deed, it is an interesting fact in the history of India that it should 
have an ancient language so highly poHshed and containing so 
much hterature, and yet of so httle practical use. Many Sans- 
crit works have been printed in India and in Europe, and 
translations of them have been made and published in the Eng- 
lish, the French, and the German languages. It was lately said 
in an article on Sanscrit hterature, and the attention bestowed 
upon it in Germany, that there are at least two thousand men 
in that country who understand the Sanscrit language. 

There is no prospect of this language ever again coming into 
vernacular use, any more than there is that the Latin will again 
become a vernacular language in Europe. But the connection 
of Sanscrit with the vernacular languages of India, and the es- 
timation in which a knowledge of it is held, will probably al- 
ways make it a branch of education in the universities and col- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 433 

leges of the country, and some knowledge of it wiU be deemed 
essential to a weU-educated Hindu.* 

The general opinion has been that the vernacular languages 
of India are to considerable extent derived from the Sanscrit 
and founded upon it, that the latter 'sustains to them a relation 
somewhat similar to what the Latin sustains to the modern lan- 
guages of Europe. Some orientalists have been of the opinion 
that some of the southern languages of the peninsula were orig- 
inal and independent languages, but that the languages of the 
northern and central parts were derived from the Sanscrit. But 
the more reasonable opinion appears to be that the present ver- 
nacular languages of India were the languages of the aboriginal 
inhabitants previous to the introduction of the brahminical sys- 
tem of rehgion. The sacred books of this system were in the 
Sanscrit, and many of its rites and ceremonies must be per- 
formed in this language. And as this system of religion, with 
its distinctions of caste, etc., spread over the country, carrying 
with it and diffusing around it a higher kind of civilization, 
many religious terms and other words of Sanscrit became incor- 
porated in the vernacular languages. Thus it appears to be 
more reasonable to believe that the vernacular languages of In- 
dia, instead of being derived from the Sanscrit and founded 
upon it, existed there before the Sanscrit was introduced, and 
that this language was superinduced upon them. Thus in the 
spread of the brahminical religion and the progress of civiliza- 
tion, many of its words, technical terms, and peculiar phrases, be- 
came incorporated with the languages previously in use. 

The general opinion concerning the social state and religious 
character of the original inhabitants of India, and also how 
the brahminical system of religion was introduced, have been 
mentioned. The primitive inhabitants must have had a vernac- 
ular language or languages, and it is in accordance with what is 
known of the aboriginal tribes of America and Africa, to suppose 
that these languages in India were numerous and distinct. How 
far they were cultivated, and whether aU of them were ^vrit- 
ten, and what literature they had, is now unknown. The brah- 
minical system was the religion of a nation who came from the 

* Appendix B. 

37 



434 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

west, or north-west, and for considerable time occupied the 
north-west provinces, and the country along the Ganges. San- 
scrit was the vernacular language of tliis nation, or these 
tribes,* then consisting of the brahmins, or hereditary priest- 
hood, the kshatryas, or military class, and the vaishyas, or mer- 
cantile class. The shudras, if there was then any such class, 
were in a state of servitude. This invading nation, as they 
extended their conquests and then- religion, appear to have 
included the people of the country in the fourth class, if there 
was previously any such class among them, and perhaps the 
fourth class was originated to include only the conquered 
aborigines. In the great valley of the Ganges, the brahmini- 
cal system became matured, and the early and most celebrated 
works of Sanscrit literature were there produced. Probably its 
vernacular use was limited to these districts, and even there it 
may have been confined to the higher classes.f Li the course of 
time the brahmins succeeded in becoming the depositories of the 
Vedas, and the kshatryas, and vaishyas lost their relative posi- 
tion in the scale of caste.^ Such a change -w^ould increase the 
power of the brahmins, and yet more restrict the use of the San- 
scrit language, while it would also increase the use, and elevate 
the character of the vernacular languages. The brahmins, with 
their peculiar and generally acknowledged claims of caste, 
forming a numerous, learned, and united priesthood, the sole 
depositories and expounders of their sacred books, and alone 
qualified to perform any part of then mystical and complicated 
ritual, possessed such means and motives to propagate their 

* Tills appears from the Institutes of Menu, making it tlie duty of these 
three classes daily to study the Vedas, which were in the Sanscrit language. 

f Some of the Hindu dramas furnish evidence that the knowledge and use 
of the Sanscrit language was thus limited. These dramas were written to be 
performed before the courts of the kings and princes ; all the parts spoken by 
the learned are in Sanscrit, but when servants and persons of low caste are in- 
troduced, they perform their parts in the vernacular language, each class thus 
using the language which was appropriate to the character they represented. 

f Some of the Purans say these castes were annihilated in a war in which 
Pursuram, a brahmin, was the hero. It appears more probable that they were 
degraded from their social or caste position in some revolution in which he 
acted a conspicuous part. Pursuram is considered one of the incarnations of 
yishnu. 



THE ISTATIVE POPULATION. 435 

system as no other body of men ever had. And as their system 
of rehgion and castes became extended, carrying its new doc- 
trines, rites, and usages with it, new words and terms would be- 
come necessary in the vernacular languages, and these would 
natm*aUy be taken or transferred from the books containing the 
religion which the people had embraced. The progressive civili- 
zation of the people would make it necessary to emich their 
languages with new words and phrases, and these would natu- 
rally be taken from the language and literature of the people 
with whom they were most in connection, and from whom they 
chiefly received and were still receiving their civilization. It is 
easy to see how in these ways the vernacular languages have got 
many Sanscrit words and phrases, and yet not be derived from, 
nor founded upon, that language. It appears probable that 
some and perhaps all the present vernacular languages of India, 
were in use there when the Sanscrit was carried into that coun- 
try, and that the Sanscrit words, terms, and phrases they now 
have, were received in connection with then- religion, civilization, 
philosophy, etc., in the same manner that barbarous nations 
have always borrowed largely from the languages of those na- 
tions by whom they have been Christianized and civUized. 

There has been some difference of opinion in respect to the 
number of languages now in use, as what some orientalists 
reckon different languages, others call only dialects, and believe 
win not be perpetuated as distinct languages. The following ap- 
pear to differ from each other enough to be called distinct lan- 
guages, namely, the Tamul, the Canarese, the Teloogoo, the Mah- 
ratta, the Oriya or Orissa, the Bengalee, the Hindui, the Gujerat- 
tee, the Scinde, the Punjaubee, and the Hindustanee. This may 
appear a large number of languages to be in use in one country. 
But it must be remembered that India is as large in extent, and 
contains nearly as large a population as all Europe south of 
Hussia and the Baltic Sea. Could we contemplate India as it 
was for 1000 or 1500 years previous to the Mohammedan inva- 
sion, we should see an assemblage of 10 or 12 different and 
independent nations, each with its own government, laws, lan- 
guage, literature,, etc. The Mohammedans gradually extended 
then power over these nations till nearly aU India was subject 
to the emperors of Delhi. The native dynasties were extin- 



436 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

guished, and the kingdoms became provinces of an empire 
under governors or deputies. In this way the pohtical state 
and relations of the country were entirely changed. India, in- 
stead of exhibiting an assemblage of separate nations, each with 
its own king, laws, etc., became an emph-e under one political 
head, and divided into provinces under governors. 

But though the political state of the country and the relations 
of the people had become changed, yet they still lived in the 
same territories, used the same languages and customs, and to 
a great extent they retained the same religion as they had when 
they were independent nations, and such continued to be their 
state while subject to the emperors of Delhi. And in these re- 
spects there was little change when the English power was 
extended over the country. The territories within which any 
language is now used, shows with very little variation the hmits 
of its ancient kingdom. Thus the territory in wliich the Tamul 
language is vernacular, shows the hmits of the ancient Tamul 
kingdom. So the territories or districts in which the Canarese 
language, the Teloogoo language, etc., are vernacular, show the 
limits of their ancient kingdoms respectively. And the territo- 
ries in which, and the population by which these different lan- 
guages are used, are nearly or quite as large on an average, as 
the kingdoms and population of Em'ope are, when compared 
with the number of languages there used. 

The Tamul is more refined and polished, and it contains 
more literature than any other vernacular language in India. 
The ancient kings of this nation appear to have encouraged 
learning and learned men at their court, and these men wrote 
their works in the Tamul language. Learned men of the 
same age at the other native courts and over India generally, 
wrote their works in Sanscrit, as the learned men of Europe, in 
the middle ages, wrote in Latin. The other vernacular lan- 
guages contain but little literature of native origin. What they 
have, consists of fragments of history, translations of some San- 
scrit works, songs, almanacs, etc. The English government in 
carrying out its system of education, has encouraged the prepa- 
ration of original works and translations in the vernacular lan- 
guages, and many valuable books have been printed within a 
few years past. The Education, IMissionary, and Book Socie- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 437 

ties, are also doing much to create a useful vernacular litera- 
ture. The works which have been prepared and printed in the 
languages of India within 25 or 30 years past, are more in num- 
ber and value than all which had ever been written and printed 
in them previous to that time. 

Nearly all these languages have different alphabets. Some 
of these alphabets are capable by their single and double letters 
of expressing a great variety of sounds, making the language 
soft and musical. But some of them are harsh and guttural. 
Efforts have been made to substitute the use of Roman letters in 
all the vernacular languages, and so have only one instead of 8 
or 10 different alphabets. Some books in Bengal were printed 
in this way. But this innovation, though it had zealous advo- 
cates for a while, did not meet with much favor ; and for obvi- 
ous reasons — the sounds of many letters and words, proper 
names as well as other words, cannot be properly, scarcely intel- 
Kgibly, expressed by the Roman letters, at least not by any 
sounds which these have, in the EngUsh or any modern lan- 
guage. 

The number of different languages in India occasions more 
difficulty to Europeans than to the native population. The latter 
experience no more inconvenience from these than the inhabi- 
tants of Europe do from the number and difference of languages 
there used. In India the languages of districts bordering on 
each other are easily acquired by the inhabitants so far as they 
have occasion to use them. In the cities .where 2 or 3 lansruages 
are used, people who use the same language generally live in 
one part of the city, and their social intercourse is among them- 
selves. And men of general business easily acquire as much 
knowledge of each language as they requke. Europeans trav- 
elling or often changing their place of residence in Lidia, have 
found so much difficulty from these different languages that the 
importance of maldng some one of these supersede the others 
and become the common language of the country, has several 
times been urged upon the public and upon the government. 
But this course would not be found to be practicable, nor would 
the anticipated effect be reahzed. 

The native princes, Mohammedan and Hindu, often gave 
salaries and pensions to men of reputed learning and piety. 

37* 



438 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

By such means they secured the influence of these men and 
then: iriends. Such men in return for the favors they received, 
were expected to celebrate the virtues and actions of then- sover- 
eigns. But the princes of India did httle or nothing for the edu- 
cation of the common people. Education in reading, writing, 
etc., was regarded generally as a qualification for business, like 
the mechanical trades of carpentry, masonry, etc. Those who 
aimed to be employed in the service of the government, or to 
become merchants or shopkeepers, endeavored to obtain the 
education requhed for the work in view. And some education 
was generally regarded as essential to the personal respectabihty 
and influence of the brahmins. So schools supported by fees 
were frequent in the cities, towns, and large villages. These 
schools were seldom well managed, and the education acquired 
in them was often very imperfect, barely enough to transact the 
ordinary business of keeping accounts. But the great body of 
the people had no education. Till recently education was 
scarcely knoAvn among women, and of the men in some districts 
perhaps 1 in 5 could read, but in other districts not 1 in 20 could 
read. And so long as there were no papers or journals or 
books of any interest or utflity to read, there was but httle mo- 
tive for taking the trouble or being at the expense of learning. 

The native population now use the press with vigor and en- 
terprise. The number of papers and journals printed in the ver- 
nacular languages in the different parts of India is now large. 
These papers are often badly managed, and yet worse supported ; 
still they awaken the native mind and diffuse some useful infor- 
mation. The native presses also issue books of all kinds, which 
appear hkely to sell so as to secure remuneration. Such papers 
and books make people feel the importance of education, and 
are contributing to promote it. These causes in connection 
with the course the English government is now pm-suing, and 
the numerous mission schools and educational institutions, 
open a brighter prospect for India. 

COMMERCE. 

The commerce of India, both external and internal, is large. 
It is carried on with China, and the other countries and islands 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 439 

east and south-east from India, on a large scale. This trade is 
chiefly in the hands of the merchants of India. The vessels 
have, generally, European officers and native crews. The 
two principal articles of export to China are cotton and opium. 
The countries bordering on the Indus^ the Persian Gulf, the Eu- 
phrates, and the eastern coast of Africa, also carry on a large trade 
with Lidia. Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, are the principal 
ports of the foreign trade. There is also much trade at the nu- 
merous smaller ports on the eastern and western coast of the 
peninsula. The trade between India and Europe is chiefly car- 
ried on round the Cape of Good Hope. There has been much 
speculation and calculation about ways and means for carrying 
on the trade between India and Europe by the Rea Sea, Egypt, 
and the Mediterranean Sea, and for a few years past smaU 
quantities of valuable goods have been transmitted by that way 
in the steam-ships which carry the mails. Whether any canal 
between the Red and the Mediterranean Seas across the isthmus 
of Suez, or any railroad between the same seas via Cairo, 
will hereafter restore the trade of the southern countries of Asia 
with Europe and the western countries of Asia to its former 
channel, remains to be seen. It appears to be the opinion of 
those who have given most consideration to this subject, that 
even if the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea should be united 
by a canal or railroad, still the greatest part of the trade be- 
tween the southern countries of Asia and the western countries 
of Europe wiU always be carried on round the Cape of Good 
Hope. 

The internal trade of India is large, but it is not so great as 
might naturally be expected, considering the variety of its cli- 
mate, soil, and productions. The streams do not aflbrd so many 
facilities for trade as might naturally be expected in so large a 
country. The rivers of the peninsula in the rainy season are 
much swollen and their currents are rapid, and in the dry season 
they are shallow, and have many sand-banks in their course and 
at thek mouths. These obstacles make the rivers of the penin- 
sula and also the Taptee and the Nerbudda of little use for com- 
merce. The Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Indus are noble 
rivers, but navigation upon them is much impeded by inunda- 
tions, currents, changes in their channels, and sand-banks. 



440 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

There are steamboats on the rivers, but the results expected from 
them have not been yet realized. The railroads now in the 
course of construction and projected, when they are completed, 
will open an immense internal trade between the different and 
distant provinces of the country, and form a new era in its com- 
merce. 

For some years past there has been a well-regulated system 
of steam-navigation between the large seaports in the southern 
countries of Asia. One line of steamships runs between Suez 
and Calcutta, stopping at Gaile and Madras. At Aden this 
line communicates with one running to Bombay, and at Galle 
it communicates with a line running between Bombay and 
Singapore, Canton, and other eastern ports. And at Singapore 
this last mentioned line communicates with one running from 
that port via Batavia to Australia. All these lines are under 
the patronage of the British government. The steamships are 
of the first class, and carry the mails, passengers, and merchan- 
dise. Such were these lines of steamships when I left India, 
and if the system has been altered, it has probably been in the 
way of enlargement. This system of steam, navigation has 
much increased the trade of India, and is infusing new life and 
spirit into eastern commerce. 

The places of commerce have much changed since it began 
to be earned on round the Cape of Good Hope. Calcutta, 
Madras, and Bombay, had no distinction under the native gov- 
ernments, and had only a few thousand inhabitants when the 
English acquired possession of them. Now each of them con- 
tains half a million of inhabitants, and in commerce as well as 
in population they rank in the first class of cities in the world. 
Surat, Cambay, Calicut, Hooghly, Dacca, and other cities 
which were once the seats of large commerce, have much de- 
clined and ceased to be places of foreign trade. The great im- 
perial and royal cities of India, as Delhi, Agi-a, Oude, etc, had 
never much foreign trade. Their population, wealth, and splen- 
dor originated in their being the capitals of empires and Idng- 
doms. And when they ceased to be the capitals of emperors, 
kings, and princes, they declined, and have now become chiefly 
remarkable for their ruins. 

Accounts are kept in rupees, annas, and pies ; 12 pies make 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 441 

an anna, and 16 annas make a rupee, which is a silver coin 
nearly equal in value to half a dollar. The currency consists of 
bank-notes, silver, and copper. Only the banks established 
by the government issue bank-notes. The silver coins con- 
sist of rupees and parts, and the copper coins are parts of annas. 
Gold is not now a legal currency, and there is but little in cir- 
culation. The government has a large mint in Calcutta, and 
another in Bombay. There are Insurance Societies in the large 
cities, and also banks which do large business in loans, discounts, 
and exchange. These kinds of business are well miderstood by 
the native merchants. Indeed, exchange appears to have been 
in operation in India long before it was used in Europe. Many 
of the native bankers and merchants are intelligent, enterprising, 
and wealthy, and they often furnish a large part of the capital 
of the English merchants. 

The foreign commerce is chiefly in Calcutta, Madras, and 
Bombay. The trade for the last year of which I have seen the 
accounts, was : — Imports at Calcutta, $26,415,850 ; at Ma- 
dras, $4,530,020 ; at Bombay, $20,553,565. Of these $37,594,- 
800 were from England. The exports in the same year were : 
from Calcutta, $50,740,190 ; from Madras, $8,364,440 ; from 
Bombay, $20,553,565. Of these, $35,132,350 were to Eng- 
land. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The agriculture of India, though it has been so long ranked 
among civilized countries, is in a very rude state. There has 
probably been very little change in the implements of labor or 
the mode of cultivation for 2,000 years past. The implements 
used are few in number, and their construction is extremely 
rude. The ploughs and harrows in general use would scarcely 
be recognized in this country, as designed for such a use. The 
cultivators understand very well the different kinds of soil, and 
for what kind of grain each soil is best adapted. Manures are 
but little employed in general cultivation, but are used in some 
places for horticulture and for sugar-cane and tobacco. As 
manure is seldom used for grain, and the ground is not in other 
respects weU prepared, the crops are generally light, and the 
same kinds of grain are commonly repeated tiU the produce will 



442 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

not pay the tax, the seed, and the labor, and then it is aban- 
doned for some years. Cultivated in this imperfect way, sev- 
eral acres in India do not produce more than one acre in Amer- 
ica. The cultivated lands of each village are generally situated 
together. They are not separated from the pasture-lands by any 
wall or fence, and the cattle and sheep graze under the care of 
boys, who restrain them from injuring the crops of grain. The 
fields belonging to different owners are not separated from each 
other by any wall, fence, or hedge, but only by posts or marks 
at the different corners. Indeed, walls or fences, or hedges of 
any kind are seldom seen in India, except around villages, houses,, 
and gardens. 

Rice is much cultivated, and in some districts is the principal 
article of food. It is prepared for food in various ways, in some 
of which it becomes better than I have seen it in any other 
country. In other districts v/heat, millet, and other cereal grains 
are cultivated. The inhabitants depend chiefly on the produce 
of the gardens and fields for subsistence. The brahmins and 
some other classes never eat any kind of meat, and the great 
body of the people using it sparingly. 

Indigo is produced in large quantities, and India supplies Eu- 
rope and America with this article. The districts in which it is 
most cultivated, are chiefly in Bengal. Engfish capital is 
largely employed in its cultivation. The labor of the cultivation 
and the manufacture is performed by the natives, but the work 
is superintended by Europeans. Under their care and sldll the 
quality of the article has been much improved, and the quantity 
has been greatly increased. The plant grows to the height of 3 
or 4 feet, with a hard and woody stem of a gray color about the 
root, green in the middle, and reddish in hue towards the top. 
It is divided into a variety of knotty stalks with small sprigs 
terminating with about 8 pair of leaves each, of an oval shape, 
thick and of a dark green on the under-side. It is in these 
leaves that the coloring matter forming the dye is chiefly found, 
and it is obtained by macerating, beating, and washing them, 
and afterwards passing the highly colored liquor into boilers, 
where it is subjected to a certain degree of evaporation, and 
eventually run off into moulds, pressed free from moisture and 
dried ready for the market. An ordinary plantation comprises 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 443 

4,000 acres of land, which may yield on an average 1,000 
maunds of 82 lbs each. 

The poppy is largely cultivated. The cultivation of the 
poppy and the manufacture of.opium is a monopoly of the gov- 
ernment in aU places subject to the East India Company. The 
poppy is a delicate plant reqmring good soil and much care in 
its cultivation. The cultivation of the poppy and the manufac- 
ture of opium from it are under the superintendence of govern- 
ment agents, and aU that is produced belongs to the government, 
the cultivators being paid for their labor at fixed rates. This 
pultivation is carried on only in the valley of the Ganges, and 
the opium is chiefly disposed of by monthly auction sales in Cal- 
cutta. The cost to the government is generally from 125 to 150 
dollars per chest of 140 lbs., and the price realized by sale is gen- 
erally from 450 to 500 dollars per chest. It is nearly aU ex- 
ported to China, and other places east from India. Opium is 
also largely cultivated in some districts in Malwa, w^hich are 
subject to some native princes. In these places the East India 
Company does not interfere with its cultivation. But as these 
districts have no sea-coast, the opium in order to be exported 
must be carried to some seaport through the territory belonging 
to the East India Company, and for this transit a heavy tax is 
exacted. Much of this opium is brought to Bombay, and is ex- 
ported to China and other places east from India. The revenue 
realized from the monopoly in Bengal, and fi:om the transit-tax 
in Bombay, is large. In the revenue accounts for 1852, which 
are the last I have seen, it amounted to .£4,562,586, or more 
than $18,000,000. 

Sugar-cane has been cultivated in India from the earliest pe- 
riods of history. It was probably the " sweet cane " mentioned by 
Moses, and its product was " honey made by the hands of 
men," mentioned by Herodotus. Sugar is made for domestic 
use over a large part of India, and it is exported in large quantities 
fi-om some districts, chiefly from Bengal, to foreign countries. 
The climate and soil of a large part of India are well adapted 
for its cultivation, and there is land in abundance suited to its 
growth. But sldll is required to improve its quahty, and capital 
might extend its cultivation to an indefinite extent. 

Cotton is indigenous in India and is mentioned in the Vedas, 



444 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

and in the Institutes of Menu, the earliest works of Indian 
origin. Herodotus also speaking of India says, " The wild 
trees of that country bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those 
of sheep in beauty and excellence, and the Indians use cloth 
made from those trees." For some centuries a large part of the 
cotton produced in Lidia was manufactm-ed into cloths, and 
then exported to Europe and the western countries of Asia. 
But since the invention of machinery and its application to the 
manufacture of cloths in Em-ope, most of the cotton of India, 
beyond what was required for home consumption, has been ex- 
ported in its raw state to England and China. The great de- 
mand for cotton in England for her manufacturing interests, the 
large supplies procured from America, the comparatively small 
quantity and inferior quality of the cotton received from India, 
and the strong desire of the Enghsh people generally to obtain 
their supplies from their own possessions, have induced the East 
Lidia Company to make great efforts to increase the quantity 
and improve the quahty of this article in India. With this 
view, some 20 or 25 years ago, they procm-ed large quantities 
of cotton-seed and some saw-gins from the United States, and 
sent them to India — the former to be distributed over the coun- 
try, and the latter to be worked, and also to be for samples for 
making others, if these should succeed well. As these means 
did not produce the results which had been expected, the East 
India Company engaged a number of men from the United 
States, who were well acquainted with the cultivation of cotton 
in their respective locahties, to proceed to India with the view of 
improving the cultivation of cotton in that country. Ac- 
cordingly some 12 or 15 such men from Mississippi and other 
Southern States, proceeded to India at different times within 20 
years past. They were to carry on their operations in different 
parts of the country ; some of them in the districts under the 
government of Bengal, some in the districts under the govern- 
ment of Madras, and some of them in districts subject to the 
government of Bombay. They examined the different kinds of 
cotton produced, the modes of cultivation, cleaning, and packing, 
the different lands of soil, etc. In some places they made sug- 
gestions and gave instructions to the native cultivators, and in 
other distiicts they superintended experimental farms and plan- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION". 445 

tations, where the American mode of cultivation and cleaning 
could be fully introduced, and the native cultivators become ac- 
quainted v^ith it. Most of these men, becoming discouraged 
with the unexpected obstacles and difficulties which beset them, 
or dissatisfied with the government agents in connection with 
whom they had to carry on their various operations, soon re- 
tm-ned to America. A few of them remained for several years, 
but I am not aware that there is any one of them at the present 
time in India. Great expectations in England and in India 
were entertained of these experiments, and great dissatisfaction 
was expressed at the result. The quantji.ty of cotton produced 
was little, if any, increased, nor did it appear that there had 
been any general, or would be much permanent improvement in 
the quality. In both these respects, expectations were disap- 
pointed. The enterprise and experiment were generally consid- 
ered to be a failure. Different causes were assigned by the men 
employed, by the government agents, by the merchants in India, 
and by the manufacturers and public in England. 

Whether any further means will be used to improve the culti- 
vation of cotton in India by procuring seed and gins, and super- 
intending knowledge and skill from America, remains to be seen. 
There is no reason to doubt that the quantity of cotton pro- 
duced in India would soon be increased to several times its 
present yearly average, if the quality could only Jdc improved so 
as to obtain a higher price. And it is the opinion of many com- 
petent judges that the quality of the different species might be 
greatly improved by better cultivation of the plant, and more 
careful cleaning and packing, adapting all to the cHmate, sea- 
sons, etc. It is certain that the finest fabrics used in Europe 
for several centuries were made of the cotton of India, and that 
some of the finest fabrics now manufactured in the world, 
as the Dacca muslins, and some others, are still made in India, 
and made of the cotion of India, and without the aid of ma- 
chinery, a manner in which such fabrics could not be made in 
any country m Europe. And if the cotton for such fine fabrics 
was formerly produced in India, and is stiU produced there in 
a few places, where there is sufficient demand to pay for its- 
cultivation, the manufacturers of England are confident that,, 
as India formerly supphed Europe with such fine fabrics manu- 



446 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

factured from her own cotton, so she could be made to supply 
England now with cotton adapted to all kinds of her manu- 
factures. There is much dissatisfaction in England with the 
East India Company on this subject, and this was one thing 
urged lately against renewing and prolonging the Company's 
chartered rights for another period of 20 years. 

The area of land in India which is suited to the cultivation 
of cotton, is 3 or 4 times as large as has been at any time used 
for cotton in the United States. Labor in those districts is 
abundant and cheap, not exceeding from 6 to 9 cents per day, 
and often cheaper than this, and the laborers generally find- 
ing their own food. And yet the cotton England has obtained 
from India for 20 years past, has been upon an average only one 
eighth part of what she has obtained in the mean time from the 
United States. The average price of Indian cotton in the Eng- 
lish market, on account of its generally inferior quality, is only 
two tliirds the price of American cotton. This difference in the 
price will make the value of all the cotton which England pro- 
cures annually from India only one twelfth part of the value of 
what she procures from America. 

India suffers much from drought. Seldom a year passes 
without the rains failing, and consequently the crops failing in 
some part of the country. In such cases the poverty of the peo- 
ple and the \%ant of facilities for procuring grain from other 
places, occasions great distress. Not unfrequently nearly all the 
inhabitants are compelled to leave their homes, go into other 
places and appeal to the charity and compassion of the people 
to save them from starvation. Roads and railways for trans- 
portation would much diminish these evils. Means for cultivat- 
ing ground by irrigation, would also greatly diminish them. In 
this way in many districts, the amount of the crops might be 
greatly increased, and in some places 2 or even 3 crops in suc- 
cession be procured in a year. Formerly the native govern- 
ments were awake to the importance of works of this kind, and 
some rivers and plains are lined with works for irrigation.* 

* "In 14 districts in the eastern part of tlie Madras territory the public ac- 
counts show that there are upwards of 43,000 works for irrigation in repair, 
besides more than 10,000 out of repair, all of which were constructed before 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 447 

Some large works of this kind have been constructed by the 
East India Company in the provinces on the Ganges and its 
branches, and the outlay has in aU cases yielded a large return.* 
There are still millions of acres in different parts of India, now 
of little use and value, but which might in this way be brought 
to a highly productive state, and made to yield a large return 
for the expenses incurred upon them. PubHc works of this char- 
acter v/ould be profitable to the government by increasing the 
revenue. While in the process of construction they would 
furnish employment and means of support to many thousands 
of the inhabitants, and by increasing the productiveness of their 
lands would be of great permanent advantage to the cultivators. 
And unless the government undertakes such works and com- 
pletes them, they can never be made.f 

The agricultural population are generally very poor, and pass 
through life, depressed in spirits, and embarrassed in their cir- 
cumstances. The appearance of their villages, their houses, 
furniture, personal appearance, lands, cattle, implements of hus- 
bandry, and conversation with each other, are aU indicative of a 
state of depression and poverty. They are generally involved 
in debt, and it appears to them to be entirely beyond their 
means or power to improve their circumstances, or in any way 
ameliorate their condition. They have only the prospect of be- 
ing able to obtain a scanty, coarse, and hard-earned subsistence 
while they live, and then to leave their families to the same 
state, or what they call their fate. 

the English had possession of the country. The annual revenue from these 
lands is £1,500,000, or nearly 7,500,000 dollars." 

* The aggregate length of these canals is 765 miles, and the expense of 
making them has been 7,500,000 dollars. The revenue of the government from 
navigation and irrigation, chiefly from the latter, is variously estimated at from 
1,500,000 to 2,000,000 dollars annually, a result so gratifying that works of a 
similar character, for which there is much need, will probably soon be under- 
taken. These works, as well as the large railways, now in the course of 
construction, w^ill produce great results in developing the resources of the coun- 
try, and will be enduring monuments of British enterprise and skill. 

f " In India, government is really the landlord, and the occupiers of the 
laud are for the most part miserably poor, and generally in arrears to the 
government for their rents, or for money borrowed to pay them. Irrigation 
can only be conducted on a large scale, and therefore the expense of it, where- 
ever it is adequatelj' performed, must be defrayed by the government." 



448 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Such has been hitherto the state and prospect of the great 
body of the people of India for many years past. The measures 
of the government fixing the rent or tax on the land in some dis- 
tricts for a certain period, as 15 or 20 years, and so giving the oc- 
cupants the advantage of any improvements they can make, has 
been regarded by them as a great favor, and should be extended 
wherever they do not come in conflict with intermediate par- 
ties or previous revenue settlements.* If the works for irriga- 
tion, and the roads and railways for transportation, which have 
been projected, are carried on vigorously, and completed during 
the present period of the East India Company's charter, thus 
first furnishing employment to great numbers of the people, and 
then opening the way for industry and enterprise to develop the 
natural resources of the different parts of the country, it wiU 
constitute a new and important era in the history of India. 



MANUTACTURES. 

India and the other countries of southern Asia supplied Eu- 
rope and the western parts of Asia with cotton and siEc manu- 
factures for many centuries. The traffic of the English and 
other East India Companies for two centuries was chiefly in 
articles of this kind, and such would apparently have con- 
tinued to be the course of trade to the present time, if new 
causes had not occurred to interrupt it. The invention of ma- 
chinery and its application to the various purposes of manufac- 
tures, have made great changes in the commerce between Eu- 
rope and the southern countries in Asia. Fine fabrics of cotton 
goods to a great amount are now annually sent fi'om England 
to India, and the manufacture of such articles in India has 
nearly ceased. The coarser kinds of cotton goods for domestic 
use are still made there in large quantities, but even in these ar- 
ticles manual labor holds very unequal competition with ma- 
chinery. This change in the manufactures of India has been a 
great injury in those districts where the inhabitants were for- 
merly largely engaged in such labor. High or moderate protec- 
tive duties would have greatly diminished these evils, but 

* For the revenue settlement of Bengal, see pages 188 and 196-198. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 449 

unhappily for India the power to regulate aU the commerce be- 
tween the two countries has been in the Parliament of England 
and in the East India Company, and the commerce between 
England and those parts of India subject to the English (which 
now includes nearly all India and all the seaports) has been 
managed on terms for the benefit of the manufactures of Eng- 
land, and much to the injury of the manufacturing interests of 
India. Villages, towns, and cities, which formerly subsisted by 
their manufactures and were in a flourishing state, are now be- 
coming dilapidated, and falling to decay and ruin. The popu- 
lation in some such places I have seen, exhibit the appearance 
of extreme poverty, and they know not what to do for means of 
support, nor where to go for employment. A late governor- 
general of India, in a communication to the Directors of the 
East India Company, says : " Some years ago the East India 
Company annually received of the pfbduce of the looms of 
India to the amount of 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 pieces of cotton 
goods. The amount gradually feU, and has now ceased alto- 
gether. English goods made by machinery has now superseded 
the produce of India. Cotton piece goods, for ages the staple 
manufacture of India, seem forever lost. And the present suf- 
fering to numerous classes in India is scarcely to be paralleled in 
the history of commerced 

The use of machinery for any kind of manufactures is yet 
scarcely known in India. The inhabitants use the same kind 
of spinning wheels, looms, etc., which their ancestors had cen- 
turies ago. Very few among them have any capital to con- 
struct and apply machinery to manufacturing purposes, and the 
few who have means have not sufScient confidence in the suc- 
cess of such works to engage in them. The regulations of the 
government and some other causes have prevented Europeans 
from engaging much in such enterprises. And even if these 
difficulties were all removed, the want of motive power has been 
a great obstacle to the use of machinery. The rivers of India, 
owing to the peculiar seasons, in very few places furnish any 
permanent and reliable water power, and the coal-deposits are 
situated so far from the districts which have the raw material 
and the population for manufactures, and are so inaccessible for 
want of roads, canals, and railways, that steam power has been 

38* 



450 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

available only to a small extent for manufacturing pm-poses. 
Should the raiboads which have been projected, be constructed 
and become available for the transmission of cotton, coal, etc., 
and the needful facilities and securities for establishing cotton 
manufactories in suitable localities be obtained, the abundance 
and cheapness of the raw material, and the low price of labor * 
and provisions may yet again make India a great manufacturing 
country. Her inhabitants may again be able to make their cot- 
ton into cloth not only sufficient for then- own use, but to supply 
England and other countries, as they formerly did for many cen- 
turies, with fine fabrics, and at a cheaper rate than those nations 
can manufacture them. 

Silk goods are made in considerable quantities for domestic 
use and also for exportation. The woollen goods manufactm-ed 
in India are coarse, as the wool produced in the country is too 
coarse to be capable of Being made into fine cloths. Cashmere 
shawls, known in aU parts of the world, are stiU made in large 
quantity in Cashmere and other parts of northern India. At one 
time 30,000 looms were engaged in the Lahore districts in the 
manufacture of these shawls. Not more than 12,000 or 15,000 
looms are now thus engaged. These shawls are much worn by 
native princes, nobles, and wealthy men. The material is the hair 
of a goat, which is said to thrive best in Cashmere. The imple- 
ments used in agriculture and in the mechanic arts are generally 
made in the country. Cables, ropes, and cordage, are made of 
coir and different kinds of hemp. Good household furniture, 
carriages, etc., are made in all places where there is sufficient 
demand to encourage such work. All classes of people are ex- 
cessively fond of jewelry, and their ornaments, which are of many 
different kinds, of gold, silver, and precious stones, are generally 
made by the native gojdsmiths. The skill displayed in such 
work generally exceeds what Europeans expect to find in India, 
and they are yet more surprised to see so ingenious and good 

* Wages in India seldom exceed 6 cents for a woman, and 9 cents for a man 
per day at common labor. Over a large part of the country wages are less 
than these sums. And the laborers, whether men or women, generally find 
their own food. There are millions of persons in India who would be glad to 
obtain work at these prices. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 451 

articles produced by the aid of so few and such rude implements. 
What was said about the manufacture of cotton cloths, is 
equally true concerning metals. There is abundance of iron 
ore, and of very rich quality, in different parts of Lidia, but no 
fuel, procurable where it is, to smelt it, and no power to move 
machinery for manufacturing it into the various articles for 
wMch it is used. Could the difHculties in the way of using these 
natm-al riches of the country be removed, India might again 
become as much distinguished among nations for her resources, 
her manufactures, her wealth, and her power, as she was in an- 
cient times. 

AECHITECTUEE. 

The most remarkable structures of Hindu and Mohamme- 
dan origin still remaining, are temples, mosques, and palaces, 
many of them now in a dilapidated state.* The temples are 
generally of a heavy and sombre appearance, more resembling 
the Egyptian than the Greek or Roman architecture. Some 
are entu-ely of hewn stone, but they are generally of brick, or 
stone and lime, and are stuccoed. As the temples are designed 
for the accommodation of the idol, and not of an assembly of 
worshippers, they are generally small in circumference, but are 
often high and surrounded with a wall, sometimes 2 or 3 walls, 
inclosing a considerable area of ground. The outside of the tem- 
ples are frequently covered with figures descriptive of the Eiiidu 
mythology. The Hindu palaces in their construction, decora- 
tions, and the durability of materials, appear to have been infe- 
rior to those of monarchs of the same age among the nations of 
western Asia. 

The Mohammedans introduced a new era of architecture into 
India. Their structures are distinguished by the frequent use 
of the arch and of the dome ; if these were previously known in 
India, they were seldom if ever used. The Mohammedan em- 
perors and their nobles came to India from or through Persia. 
There was much intercourse between their courts and the Mo- 
hammedan monarchs in western Asia, and they had some- 
times, if not generally, Greek and Italian, or Roman artists and 
architects in their employment. With such aid and abundant 



452 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

means it would naturally be expected that they would erect 
structures worthy of their age, then* religion, and then- name. 
And so they did ; for then* palaces, their mosques, their mauso- 
leums, and their private dwellings, will long continue to be mon- 
uments of their magnificence, then* zeal for their faith, their 
wealth and taste, and their respect for their dead, or desne of 
remembrance when dead. 

The seats of English power in India, as Calcutta, Madras, 
and Bombay, contain many fine buildings, both public and pri- 
vate. Of the latter, many belong to wealthy natives. These 
are often well furnished, and being surrounded by beautiful 
gardens, are delightful residences. In aU places occupied by the 
English as permanent civil or military stations, are some good 
houses, which from their adaptation to the climate (which is so 
warm over a large part of the country that fire is never required 
in houses for comfpit), are more comfortable than strangers on 
first arriving in India suppose. 

The houses of the wealthy and middle classes of the native 
population, excepting a small portion in the cities which have 
grown up under English influence, are generally badly con- 
structed, inconvenient, and dark. Li some parts of the country 
the houses and ah then appurtenances are suiTOunded with a 
high waU, which has only one entrance and conceals all inclosed 
within it from view. Such cities and villages have a very 
gloomy appearance. This mode of building is designed to se- 
cure protection from robbers, etc. The houses of the lower 
classes are generally wretched, with httle room, or convenience, 
or comfort. They often consist of bamboo-walls, thatched 
roofs, and earth floors. In other disti-icts the walls are of stone 
and earth, with thatched or badly tiled roofs and floors of earth. 
They often consist of only one or two rooms v/ith little conven- 
ience of letting in the light or letting out the smoke-, while the 
furniture is so scant that the place appears more as though it 
was deserted than occupied. 

Vessels of all kinds and classes are built in Bombay, 
Calcutta, Cochin, and some other places. The forests on the 
western, coast of the peninsula, and on the eastern coast of 
the Bay of Bengal contain excellent timber for ships. The 
expense of building ships in India is much greater than in Eu- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 453 

rope or America, but they are far more durable. Ships of war 
and ships for commerce of the largest size have been built in 
the dock-yard in Bombay. The work in some cases was 
entirely performed by the natives. These ships are said to be 
equal in their materials and workmanship to any that belong to 
the royal navy or to the commercial marine, equal to any that 
carry the British flag. Steam-ships have also been built in 
Bombay, but the heavy machinery used in them was brought 
from Europe. 

MUSIC. 

Music appears to have been formerly reduced to scientific 
principles, and to have been more cultivated in India, than it 
now is. The native martial music, so far as they had any, has 
been changed with the government of the country and discipline 
of the army for European music, as the drum, fife, etc. Their 
religion furnishes but little occasion for the use of music. A 
few large temples have a company of musicians, who play a 
whUe nights and mornings. Operas are unknown, and theatri- 
cal amusements are of a meagre character. Marriages are 
almost the only occasions when usage requires musical perform- 
ance and entertainments. The Hindus have many different 
kinds of instruments, as drums, trumpets, horns, cymbals, haut- 
boys, fiddles, etc., but the musicians are generally men of low 
caste, who have little skill and less taste. A company of musi- 
cians at marriages commonly consists of 6 or 8, and sometimes 
of as many as 15 or 20 performers. The larger the company, 
the greater the noise and apparently the confusion of sounds. 
Singing is one of the accomplishments of women of loose mor- 
als, and some such have acquired much celebrity for their musi- 
cal talents. The singing and dancing of this class of persons 
are the favorite amusements of the wealthy and at the courts 
of the native princes. The writers of popular songs have some- 
times acquired much celebrity by their sldJl and taste in singing 
them. People when at work in company often beguile the 
time by singing, one singing a couplet and the rest adding 
a chorus. These songs have little meaning in them and are 
often very obscene. StUl the Hindus have a natural fondness 
for music. 



454 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Singing has been introduced into the worship of the assem- 
blies of native Christians. The hymns are in the native lan- 
guages, but they are generally adapted to European tunes. 
TMs part of worship is performed with much propriety. The 
native Christians also show their fondness for music by often 
singing these hymns by themselves, in their families and in their 
social meetings. 

PAINTING AND SCULPTURE. 

The Hindus appear never to have excelled in painting. In 
this art they are inferior to the Chinese and to the Persians. 
Some of their colors are durable, as may be seen on the walls 
of some of the cave-temples of Adjunta, probably made in the 
5th or 6th century. The walls of their temples often contain 
paintings of their gods, heroes, battles, etc., as described in their 
sacred books, so that the worshippers see on aU sides illustrations 
of their sacred history and objects of adoration. The walls of 
private houses often contain similar paintings. I once saw a 
large royal palace, reported to have cost nearly $1,000,000, in 
which the walls of the rooms and halls were covered with paint- 
ings of the incarnations of Vishnu and other actions and events 
contained in the Purans. The paintings of this character have 
much influence in communicating a knowledge of their popular 
superstitions. This art is made subservient to what they beheve 
to be truth and piety. Some years ago missionaries began to 
insert cuts and illustrations more frequently in rehgious and edu- 
cational books, and the native taste was soon manifested by 
their increased estimation of such works and demand for them. 
The native press has since commenced the same course, and by 
such means greatly increased the sale and circulation of their 
publications. But in painting portraits, natural scenery, etc., the 
Hindus are inferior to the Chinese. 

More attention appears to have been paid to sculpture than to 
painting. The cave-temples contain statues in great numbers 
and variety, some single and others in large groups. These fig- 
ures are generally a part of the rock in which the excavations 
are made, and some of them are of colossal size. Many of 
these figures and groups are bold and spirited in their design, but 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 455 

they do not exhibit the human form in good proportions, nor are 
its parts well developed. Such statuary appears much better 
at a distance and in thek partially lighted temples than on 
near inspection. Marble idols for their temples and for worship 
in their houses are common among the wealthy. In works of 
this kind the Hindus are far inferior to the Greeks and Romans, 
or to the modern nations of Europe. Their skill however is 
Btill sufficient to entitle them to a place in the rank of civilized 
nations. 

ASTRONOMY. 

There is much obscurity in the early history of astronomy in 
India. Their system, so far as any has come down to the pres- 
ent time, has been examined by some of the ablest astronomers 
and mathematicians of Europe, as Bailly, Playfair, Maskelyne, 
and Bentley, and there was much difference among them re- 
specting various things in it. The general opinion now is, that 
though aU the pretensions of Hindu asti'onomy cannot be al- 
lowed, yet that in astronomical science, they were once in ad- 
vance of any other nation, and that the Greeks were indebted to 
India for much of their knowledge on this subject. The names 
of the Hindu astronomers, the time when they lived, and the 
places where thek observations were made, cannot be certainly 
ascertained ; only their works, and these not in any regular system 
or connected order, have come down to the present time. The 
modern astronomers in India know how to use these tables 
and rules in making their almanacs and calculating echpses, 
but they are ignorant of the principles upoji which these tables 
and rules are made. They generally say that these tables are 
the work of men who were divinely assisted to make them, and 
I have often heard the common people say that the original au- 
thors of such tables and rules must have been inspired, for how 
could they, unless inspired, have made tables by which the as- 
tronomers can foretell such future events as eclipses. 

These ancient astronomical works show that the writers had 
connect views of the solar system. But the mythological opin- 
ions, for system it cannot be called, have continued to be the 
popular creed to the present time. The popular notion of 
eclipses is, that a great monster, called Ketu, then attempts to 



456 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

seize and destroy the sun or moon, and so at the time of an 
ecHpse, the people fast and pray that the sun or moon, as the 
case may be, may not be destroyed. Sometimes they implore 
Ketu to forbear and spare the sun or the moon, and sometimes 
they beseech the gods to interpose and save them. The brah- 
mins and the Hindus generally fast on days when an eclipse is 
expected, till it has passed over; they then perform the pre- 
scribed religious ceremonies and eat. If it is an eclipse of the 
sun, and is to be nearly or quite total, its beginning and pro- 
gress is observed by many with much anxiety. All business is 
suspended. Some engage in prayers to the gods to interpose 
and preserve the sun ; some implore the demon, who is believed 
to be making an attack upon the sun, to desist ; and some give 
alms to the poor, supposed then to be peculiarly meritorious. 
There are men in different parts of the country who understand 
the astronomical tables and rules enough to make ahnanacs. 
These almanacs contain notices of the solar and lunar echpses 
to be expected in the coming year. These notices generally 
vary some from the exact time, but as such echpses are not ob- 
served for any practical purposes, and people have very indefi- 
nite notions of accuracy in time, the errors and differences gen- 
erally pass unobserved. Changes and all phenomena in the 
heavenly bodies are much intermixed with superstitious notions 
on astrology, and the almanacs of the Indian astronomers are 
chiefly valued for the supposed information they contain con- 
cerning lucky and unlucky days, signs, etc. The superstition of 
the people in these matters is excessive, and notions of this 
character govern them in the greater part of the important 
transactions of life. The opinion of the astrologer is an im- 
portant element in forming a marriage contract, and then in fix- 
ing upon the time for the ceremonies, in determining to make a 
voyage, journey, etc., and then in setting out upon it. So strong 
are the superstitious feehngs of many concerning the supposed 
influence of the stars on human afiairs, and that some days are 
lucky, and others again are unlucky, that no arguments or 
promises would induce them to deviate from the course which 
these stars, signs, etc., indicate as the way of safety, prosperity, 
and happiness. The evils and inconvenience of these supersti- 
tions and prejudices are among the things that press heavily 
upon the people of India. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 457 



MEDICINE. 

"Works on diseases and their remedies show that at some for- 
mer period, much attention was given to these subjects. Works 
of this character were translated into the Arabic language, and 
the Arabian writers acknowledge their obHgation to India. In- 
oculation for the smallpox was practised in India long before 
it was known in Europe. Venesection, lithotomy, and couch- 
ing for cataract, were understood and practised. The list of 
Indian medicines includes many of mineral as well as of vege- 
table origin, and their chemical preparation was as well under- 
stood as in any country at that time. The giving and taking 
of medicines are often mixed with superstitious usages and fool- 
ish notions, which are regarded as essential to their efficacy. 
Their imperfect knowledge of anatomy does not admit of their 
becoming skilful in surgery. The practice of medicine is gener- 
ally confined to the same families for successive generations, 
the father communicating to his sons his knowledge and his 
skiE, his books, and as far as possible, his reputation. There ap- 
pear never to have been any ancient schools of medicine which 
acquired celebrity, nor does the art of healing appear to have in 
any way received the patronage of native governments. Poets 
who could celebrate the praises of their benefactors, and brah- 
mins and devotees, whose support, on account of their religious 
character, was deemed a work of merit, and obtained for their 
benefactors the reputation of piety as well as of liberaHty, were 
the objects of royal bounty. But those who were sick or in- 
jured by accidents, must seek for medical knowledge and sur- 
gical skiU where they could find them. 

The EngHsh government supports surgeons in the army, in 
the native as well as the European regiments. The care which 
the English government shows for the health of their native 
troops, and the treatment these receive when sick, so difierent 
from what is seen and experienced in the armies of the native 
princes, have greatly strengthened the power of the English in 
India. The European surgeons in charge of the native regi- 
ments have generally some native assistants under their care, 
who acquhe considerable knowledge of diseases and the Eu- 

39 



458 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

ropean manner of treating them. These men on leaving the 
army, and sometimes perhaps while in connection with it, prac- 
tise medicine among the native population in the cities and 
large towns. And defective as the knowledge and skill of this 
class are when compared with the regularly educated physicians 
of Europe and America, they are yet far superior to the com- 
mon native doctors. There are large hospitals in Calcutta, 
Madras, and Bombay, and m other large cities, and generally at 
the civil stations, where medical advice and medicines are given 
gratuitously to the poor and suffering. The EngKsh have done 
much to introduce and extend vaccine inoculation. The gov- 
ernment also furnishes medicine and sometimes medical attend- 
ance for a while in places where cholera prevails. Medical 
institutions have been recently established by the EngKsh gov- 
ernment in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. They have weU- 
qualified professors, and it is expected that native men wiH 
become prepared in them to practise medicine among their 
countrymen, and so India, in the course of time, will have a 
qualified medical profession, for want of which she has so long 
suffered. 

The oriental nations generally acknowledge the superiority of 
Europeans in medical science and skiU. The readiness, and 
frequently the anxiety they manifest when iE, to put themselves 
under the care of European physicians, even when they have no 
more knowledge of the party than that he is an acknowledged 
physician among his comitrymen, is surprising. Tliis is true of 
the princes as weU as of the common people, and European 
physicians, by their medical skill, with the emperors, kings, and 
princes, have often been able to perform important services for 
the English interests in India. In Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, 
and perhaps a few other cities, some European physicians have 
had profitable practice among the higher classes of the native 
population. 

MARRIAGE, 

Agreements and arrangements concerning marriage in India 
are made by parents for their children. They feel it as much a 
part of their duty to effect the marriage of their children, as they 
do to support tliem when young, and to educate them. Such 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 459 

has been the custom of the country for many centuries. One 
reason they assign for this custom is, that if their chUdxen should 
grow up unmarried, they might form unsuitable connections to 
the sorrow and dishonor of their friends, and to their own un- 
happiness. Another reason assigned is, that if allowed to grow 
up unmarried, they perhaps would not form any marriage con- 
nection, but would live idly and lewdly and become profligate. 
The marriage relation is also supposed to be necessary to pre- 
serve the moral character of their daughters. A long and inti- 
mate acquaintance with many people of different classes, and 
the spirit that generally pervades the native population, satisfied 
me that these opinions of the consequencestof parents allowing 
their children to grow up unmarried, and then to form what con- 
nections they pleased or none at all, have more of prudence, wis- 
dom, and consideration in their favor than they at fij-st sight ap- 
pear to have. Unhappy as such early marriages often must be, 
yet I am not certain but in India, where society is so corrupt, em- 
ployment so difficult to procure, temptations to licentiousness so 
great, and the means of supporting families so hard to be real- 
ized, greater evils would result from parents allowing their chil- 
dren to grow up unmarried, and then to marry as they please or 
not marry at all. No doubt families, if the marriage connection 
between the parents was formed at mature age and from their 
free choice, would generally be happier, yet very many men, if 
they grew up unmarried, would never enter the marriage state, 
and it appears not unUkely that the social and moral state of 
people would be worse than it now is. Could polygamy be 
abolished and widows among all classes have the same right of 
again entering the married state that men have, so that widow- 
ers could marry women of their own age, and not be compelled, 
as they now are, to marry young girls and even children, it would 
probably be as well for the present custom of parents an-anging 
and settling and completing the marriage of then children to 
continue until the people have become better educated, and a 
better moral spirit shall pervade all classes of the inhabitants. 

The higher classes generally marry their children at an earlier 
age than the middle and lower classes. Boys are generally 
married at ages varying from 7 or 8 to 12 or 15 years, and 
girls at an earlier age. Among the brahmins, if any girl remains 



460 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

unmarried until she is 11 years old, the family is suspended 
from caste. The marriage of children, sons as well as daugh- 
ters, is regarded as a matter of great importance. AJl classes 
are very superstitious in respect to lucky and unlucky days for 
this ceremony. The astrologer is called to show his knowledge 
of the future, and the stars and other powers,* supposed to have 
influence over human affairs, are consulted. If these opinions 
and indications should all be favorable, the marriage covenant 
between the parents of the children is made, and a propitious 
time for the ceremony is selected. The friends of both parties 
are invited to be present. The gatherings at such times are 
generally large, and continue for 2 or 3 days, and sometimes for 
a week. The marriage ceremonies are performed by some brah- 
min, in the presence of the assembly. These ceremonies are nu- 
merous, tedious, and mystical, and being in the Sanscrit language 
are utterly unintelligible ; for even if the people understood the 
language (and not one in a thousand does understand it) he 
hurries through it so fast and speaks so low that none know 
what he says. Indeed, much of v/hat he says consists of mysti- 
cal words and phrases, which he repeats by rote, often under- 
standing as little of them himself as those do who hear him. 
Yet aU these ceremonies are believed to be of great importance. 
The expenses for ornaments, religious ceremonies, feastmg, 
music, processions, illuminations, presents to friends, etc., are 
large. The rich expend money very freely on such occasions, 

* I once became ill when on a missionary tour, and liad to stop a while in the 
verandah of a temple. While there I was much troubled by people coming to 
consult the god about a marriage then under consideration. The way they pro- 
ceeded was first to worship the idol, and then taking two flowers put them in 
water and pressed one of them on the right and the other on the left breast or 
cheek of the idol. The idol was of stone, somewhat resembling the human 
form, and having been recently -besmeared with sJiandur (red lead and oil 
mixed), the flowers would adhere to it so long as they continued to be wet. 
The people having thus applied the flowers, would then stand before the idol 
and pray thus: — "O god, if this marriage now under consideration will be 
happy, then cause the flower on thy right breast or cheek to fall first ; and if it 
will be unhappy, then cause the flower on thy left breast or cheek to fall first." 
They would then all stand anxiously waiting to see the result. They tried the 
experiment, or rather in this way consulted the god, several times, and were 
prepared to act in accordance with what they believed to be his revealed wiUL 
Similar ways of consulting the gods in important matters are often practised. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 461 

and the lower classes often incur debts which are a burden upon 
them for years. 

"When the marriage ceremonies are over, the bridegroom and 
the bride return to their respective homes, each living with then- 
parents, and occasionally interchanging visits till they arrive at a 
state of puberty. Some fm-ther ceremonies are then performed, 
and the parties begin to live together. 

One unhappy consequence of the early age at which mar- 
riages take place in India is, that one of the parties not unfre- 
quently dies before they have lived together. A widower, what- 
ever his age may be, and to whatever caste he may belong, can 
marry again. But a widow of the brahminical caste, whether 
she has ever lived with her husband or not, is not allowed again to 
enter the married state. She is not allowed to wear her hair, or 
any ornaments, or to be present at marriages or any other festive 
occasions. Thus excluded from the marriage state and dis- 
graced in social hfe, her circumstances, especially if she has not 
sons to protect her, are very humiliating, and her situation be- 
comes extremely painful. This state often leads openly or se- 
cretly to a life of vice and prostitution. It was this view of the 
painful prospect before them in life that formerly induced so 
many widows of this caste voluntarily to perish with the bodies 
of their deceased husbands on the funeral pile. There is some 
prejudice among some of the other high castes against widows 
marrying again, and in some places and circles such marriages 
seldom occur, but I am not aware that it is prohibited to any 
caste except the brahmins. Among the great body of the Hin- 
dus, widows as well as widowers can marry again. The state- 
ment sometimes made that widows in India cannot again enter 
the married state, is true only of the high castes. The marriage 
of widows is not prohibited by the shastras to more than one 
tenth part of the people. Among nine tenths of the people 
widows can marry again and again, if they please. The cere- 
monies of the second marriage of women are different from 
those of the first marriage. They are shorter, more simple, and 
less expensive. The marriage of widows, especially of such as 
have children, is not so frequent as it is in Christian coun- 
tries. But among the Mohammedans and the great body of 
Hindus, there is no law or usage depriving widows of the privi-' 

39* 



462 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 



lege and the right of again entering the marriage state. In- 
deed, considering how early females are married, generally when 
mere children, and consequently how many of them become 
widows, it is not easy to see how society could exist, were no 
widows of any caste permitted again to enter on married 
Ufe. 

It is declared in the Hindu laws to be a crime for parents to 
sell their daughters to be married, or to accept any pecuniary 
consideration for giving them in maniage to any party whatever. 
But this law is little regarded. It is very common for parents to 
take all they can get in such cases, and for a pecuniary consid- 
eration they will often give thek daughters in marriage to old 
men who are widowers, or to men who have akeady one or two 
wives. In this way young girls are often sacrificed for money 
to a wretched and miserable life by their selfish and unfeeling 
parents. 

Parents generally marry their sons as well as their daughters 
when young, and in such cases the men and women are nearly 
of the same age. But sometimes boys, either from the poverty 
of then parents or from some other cause, gTOw up unmarried, 
and such men, whatever may be their age, will many young 
girls. Among the brahmins, all the guis must be married before 
they are 11 years old, and as widows, however young they may 
be, cannot again enter the married state, aU bachelors and wid- 
owers of this caste, if they wish to marry, whatever their age 
may be, can only marry young girls, mere children. This un- 
reasonable custom is the cause of many unequal and incongru- 
ous connections — men 40, 50, 60 and more years old married 
to young girls. Such marriages and families can seldom be 
otherwise than unhappy. 

POLYGAMY. 

Polygamy is practised among all classes of the native popu- 
lation in India — among Hindus, Mohammedans, Parsees, and 
Jews. Among some classes the custom is, that if a man's first 
wife has no children he may take a second, and for the same reason 
a thu-d, etc. And among some classes, if a man's wife has no 
son he may take a second wife. There may be other causes 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 463 

which are deemed sufficient for it.* Wealth and incKnation 
generally govern the conduct of men in these matters more than 
any fixed rules.f The Koran afiows any Mohammedan to marry 
four wives, and then to havB as many concubines as he can 
maintain. But polygamy appears not to be more common 
among them than it is among the Hindus. The Parsees or Zo- 
roastrians practise polygamy, but cases of it are not frequent. 
The Jews also in India practise it, and think they have sufficient 
authority for it in the example of the patriarchs and kings of the 
Old Testament. I have often had discussions with them upon 
this subject. 

A pecuhar kind of polygamy exists among the brahmins of 
Bengal. Bullalsen, a former Eaja of Bengal, having observed 
that many of the brahmins had Httle regard to the shastras and 
religious rites and usages, in the hope of promoting learning 
and religion among them, divided them into several classes or 
orders. The first class was .called Kuleen or the Kuleen brah- 
mins, and was designed to embrace only those who were learned, 
pious, etc. But instead of continuing to be an Order of Merit, 
as was intended, it has become a mere hereditary distinction, a 
kind of hereditary nobility without any reference to the personal 
qualities in view of which it originated. This class claims and 
everywhere receives preeminence, and it is a great honor to be 
aUied to them. The men of this class can marry into other divis- 
ions of the brahminical caste, who will often give large sums of 
money for the honor of such a connection, but the women or 
daughters of kuleen brahmins can marry only into their own 
class or order. In consequence of this strange usage, says Ward, 
" the sons of kuleens are generally preengaged, while their un- 

*• The Institutes of Menu, -vvMcli are the highest authority in sucli matters, 
say : — "A barren wife may be superseded by another in the eighth year; she 
whose children are all dead, in the tenth ; she who brings forth only daughters, 
in the eleventh ; she who speaks unkindly, without delay." 

I I was once ascending the Ganges with some friends when one of our com- 
pany who belonged to Calcutta, directed our attention to a large and beautiful 
house situated near the bank of the river, remarking that the resident was a 
son of the late king of Oude. After looking a while at the palace, the park, 
and other things, he pointed out some appurtenances, and said that those places 
were occupied by the harem. I inquired how many wives the owner had. My 
fi'iend replied that he did not know the exact number, but there were about 80. 



464 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODBEN. 

married daughters for v/ant of young men of equal rank, become 
so numerous that husbands cannot be found for them ; hence 
one kuleen brahmin often marries a number of wives of his own 
order. Each kuleen marries at least two wives ; one the daugh- 
ter of a brahmin of his own order, and the other of a shortry 
brahmin ; the former he generally leaves at her father's, the other 
he takes to his own house. It is essential to the honor of a 
kuleen that he have one daughter, but by the bkth of many 
daughters he sinks in respect ; hence he dreads more than other 
Hindus the bkth of daughters. Some inferior kuleens marry 
many wives. I have heard of persons having 120 ; many have 
15 or 20, and others 40 or 50 each. Numbers procure a subsist- 
ence by this excessive polygamy ; at their marriages they obtain 
large presents, and as often as they visit these wives they receive 
presents from the father, and thus having married into 40 or 
50 families, a kuleen goes from house to house, and is fed, clothed, 
etc." * In this way BuUalsen's creation of an Order of Merit 
among the brahmins, has produced a state of monstrous polyg- 
amy, which has no equal in the history of human depravity. 

The domestic habits of the Hindus and Mohammedans are 
such that it would be impossible to ascertain or definitely say 
what proportion of men have two or more wives, and in some 
districts the cases are much more frequent than in others. In 
some places the proportion of men who have two or more wives, 
may be 1 in 5, and in other places not more than 1 in 10. In 
this respect there is no difference between the native population 
in the territories under the English government, and in those 
wMch are subject to the native princes. When the East India 
Company began to acquire territory in India, and so have a 
native population under their government, Acts of Parliament 
were passed authorizing the inhabitants to live and act in ac- 
cordance with their previously established laws and usages in 
civil and rehgious matters. The English government has always 
had the power to make any new laws for which there might ap- 
pear to be occasion. But none have been enacted concerning 
polygamy, nor does it appear likely that any such will be enacted 
for some time to come. So the laws and usages previously 
existing are still in force, and they are administered by English 

* Ward's View of tlie Hindus, vol. 1, p. 81, 82. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 465 

magistrates. Thus in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, which 
have belonged to the English for several generations, polygamy 
is practised as freely by the different classes and castes of the 
native population, as it would be if they were living under gov- 
ernments professing their own faith. And in the same manner 
polygamy with aU its evils, personal, social, and moral, exists 
among more than 100 millions of people living under the Brit- 
ish government. People of different religions and castes never 
intermarry with each other, and all questions and cases concern- 
ing marriage, inheritance, etc., are decided in the courts accord- 
ing to established laws and usages of the respective parties. 
Cases of this character, where the parties are Hindus, are decided 
according to the Hindu laws and usages, and where the parties 
are Mohammedans according to their laws and usages. So 
also with the Parsees, the Jews, etc. In cases affecting the va- 
lidity of marriages, as cases concerning hereditary right to prop- 
erty, the question considered by the courts is, whether the mar- 
riage in its circumstances and connections was in accordance 
with the established usages of that class of people, and was 
then regarded by all interested as a proper and valid marriage. 
If it is decided to be of this character, then all questions depend- 
ing upon the marriage or involved in it, are determined accord- 
ing to the laws and usages of the parties interested. 

It has been mentioned that polygamy among the native pop- 
ulation of India is protected by Acts of Parliament, and by the 
decisions of the highest courts. The marriage of a Hindu or a 
Mohammedan or a Jew in India with his second, third, or fom-th 
wife, if it is performed according to the Hindu or Mohammedan 
or Jewish lav^is and usages, is as valid as his marriage with his 
first wife, as valid as the marriage of any European or Ameri- 
can is in his own country. The children of each wife are equally 
legitimate. He cannot divorce either of his wives without due 
form of law, and the law is open to his wives for redress, if he 
should refuse to support them or then- children. 



CASTE. 

The distinctions of Caste in India are so peculiar, and have 
existed so long, they have had so much influence upon the state 



466 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and character of the people in time past, and still have so much, 
that they appear to deserve particular consideration. 

The history of several ancient nations mention that the in- 
habitants were divided into different classes according to their 
occupations. " In Egypt the people are said to have been 
divided into 4 classes, namely, the priests, the military class, the 
artificers, and the husbandmen." " The Colchians and the Ibe- 
rians were divided into 4 classes, whose rank and office were 
hereditary and unchangeable." In Persia, " Jamshed divided all 
the people into 4 classes." In these nations the divisions are 
ascribed to their government, and so like their other laws and 
usages, they perished in the changes of dynasties and the revo- 
lutions of time. Those who originated the distinctions of caste 
which have been perpetuated in India, whether they were 
princes or priests, or what is more probable, both combined, 
took what was for them, a wiser course. They inserted these 
distinctions in their sacred books, and so ascribed their origin 
and the laws for observing them to the Creator. 

The Vedas and their expositors mention the existence and the 
comparative rank of the four original castes, and the Institutes 
of Menu and other works beheved by the Hindus to be of 
divine origin, contain particular accounts of the origin and na- 
ture of these distinctions. The following are extracts from 
these works : — 

" That the human race might be multiplied, Brahma caused 
the brahmins to proceed from his mouth, the kshatryas from his 
arms, the vaishyas from his thighs, and the shudras from his 
feet. To the brahmins he assigned the duties of reading the 
Vedas, of teaching them, of sacrificing, of aUuriiig others to 
sacrifice, of giving alms if they be rich, and if indigent, of re- 
ceiving gifts. — To defend the people, to sacrifice, to give alms, 
to read the Vedas, to shun the allurements of sensual gratifica- 
tion, are in a few words the duties of the kshatryas. — To keep 
herds of cattle, to bestow largesses, to sacrifice, to read the 
scriptures, to carry on trade, to lend money at interest, and to 
cultivate land, are prescribed to the vaishyas. — One principal 
duty the Supreme Ruler assigned to the shudras, namely, to 
serve the before-mentioned classes without depreciating their 
worth." 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 467 

In the Bhagawat Gita, Krishna says, " Mankind was created 
by me, of four kinds, distinct in their principles, and in their 
duties." — " The duties of brahmins, kshatryas, vaishyas, and 
shudras are distributed agreeably to their natural characteristic 
qualities. The natural duties of the brahmins are subjugation 
of the mind and body, austerity, sanctity, forbearance, divine 
and human knowledge and faith. The duties of the kshatryas 
are heroism, energy, patience, policy, not fleeing in battle, gen- 
erosity, aptitude for governing. The duties of the vaishyas are 
commerce, agriculture, and tending cattle. The duty of the 
shudras is to serve the other orders." 

These extracts show that the Hindu sacred books teach that 
the distinctions of caste are of divine origin, and commenced 
with theu' creation. Such is the belief of aU orthodox Hindus. 
They no more believe that the different castes into which they 
are divided, were originally of one common stock, and subse- 
quently became separated into different castes as they now are, 
than we beheve that camels, horses, goats, and hogs, were 
originally of one common stock, and that the differences we now 
see between them have all subsequently taken place. The Hin- 
dus all believe that the Creator of the human race, or dif- 
ferent races as they regard them, was the founder of caste by 
separately creating each order. They also believe that he as- 
signed to each caste its comparative rank, and its appropriate 
and particular duties. So there are no laws of higher origin or 
of more importance than those which pertain to caste. 

The brahmins were to be treated with reverence almost equal 
to the gods, and with respect far greater than kings. Injuries 
inflicted upon them were to be punished with great severity, 
while the same crimes if committed by them were to be treated 
with great lenity, and for no crime whatever were they ever to 
be put to death, or reduced to slavery. Still the course of life 
prescribed for them was far from being one of ease and self- 
indulgence. A brahmin was to be emphatically a religious 
man. The first part of his Hfe he- was to be a student under the 
continual care of his spiritual guide, learning and reading the 
Vedas, and performing religious rites and ceremonies. In the 
second part he was to become a householder. In this period 
his duties were to read and teach the Vedas, to offer sacrifices. 



468 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and to assist others to sacrifice, to receive gifts, and bestow alms. 
He may eat animal food if it has been offered in sacrifice, and 
this subject is mentioned in a manner which indicates a frequent 
practice. In all cu'cumstances he is to be careful in sustaining 
his religious profession, to abstain from all amusements, and 
from all light conduct and frivolous conversation. And so he 
is to continue till the time for entering upon the third state, 
thus : — " When he perceives his muscles become flaccid, and 
his hair gray, and sees the child of his child, let him then seek 
refuge in a forest." He is to be clothed with the bark of trees, 
or the skin of a black antelope ; he must not cut his hair or his 
nails, he must sleep on the bare ground, and " live without fire, 
without a mansion, whoUy silent, feeding on roots and fruit." 
He must submit to many severe austerities,* and carefully per- 
form all the required sacrifices and ceremonies. In the fourth, 
or last period or state of life, he is released from aU the forms 
and ceremonies of religion ; he may now cease to inflict acts of 
mortification upon himself, and devote his time to contempla- 
tion, and to meditation upon the Supreme Spnit. The abstinence 
and self-denial to be practised are still great, but they are not so 
severe as in the previous state. He may leave the forest and 
return to the abodes of civilized life. " Having abandoned all 
ceremonial acts, having expiated aU his offences, having ob- 
tained a command over his organs, and having perfectly under- 
stood all the Vedas, he may become an anchorite in the house 
of his son, while the household affairs are conducted by his son." 
And thus he was to continue to the end of life. 

The brahmins now seldom attempt to perform aU these rites 
and to practise all these austerities. The rules of caste among 
them have changed in various ways, but they regard themselves 
as observing the most important and essential rules. They 
alone can possess and expound the Vedas, and they must offi- 
ciate in aU religious rites and ceremonies. They profess to 
obey their rules in respect to eating and drinking, and they have 

* " In the hot season let him sit exposed to five fires, fiaur blazing around him, 
with the sun above ; in the rains let him stand uncovered, without even a man- 
tle, where the clouds pour the heaviest showers ; in the cold season let him wear 
humid vesture, and let him by degrees increase the austerity of his devo- 
tions." 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 469 

great influence over all the other castes. In some districts they 
make one tenth or twelfth part of the people, but in others not 
more than one twentieth part. A small proportion of them 
understand the Sanscrit language and its hterature, and nearly 
all are educated in the vernacular languages of their district. 
They are easy and poHte in their manners, ready and fluent 
in conversation, and fond of discussion on religious and meta- 
physical subjects. 

The kshatryas and vaishyas, as pure castes, are now de- 
clared by the brahmins to be extinct, and this is the general 
opinion among the Hindus.* A few families in some places 
claim to belong to these original castes, but their claims are not 
generally allowed, and it is certain that they do not retain and ex- 
ercise the original rights of these castes, as reading the Vedas, 
offering sacrifices, etc. Only the brahmins now possess the Ve- 
das, and officiate in religious rites and ceremonies. 

Caste, in its nature and origin, is an essential part of the Hindu 
rehgion, and all nations and tribes not professing this faith, are 
called in their sacred books outcastes and polluted. Caste con- 
sists essentially in pretended and supposed birth-purity. It is 
strictly hereditary and never can be acquired. It is not properly 
of a moral nature, nor in any way connected with or dependent 
upon moral qualities. People may commit any kind of iniquity, 
may be guUty of falsehood, theft, lewdness, robbery, and murder, 
and they often are guilty of these crimes, are convicted of them 
and pubhcly punished for them, and yet do not lose caste. Caste 
appears not to have been designed to promote justice or pu- 
rity or holiness, but by making fancied distinctions of differ- 
ent classes of the human race, and arbitrary rules concerning 
family connections and social intercourse, to elevate some of 
these classes and to depress others and to perpetuate this state, 
so that no vices could degrade the former, and no virtues elevate 
the latter. 

The supposed purity of caste may be destroyed or impaired 
by a violation of its rules, and such violations are punished in 
various ways according to the nature of the offence. People 
may incur this evil by personally violating its rules, or by partici- 

* Page 434. 

40 



470 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

pating knowingly or unknowingly with those who are transgres- 
sors. This liability to suffer for the transgression of others, makes 
people watchful over the conduct of one another. If there is 
any report or accusation against any one of having broken the 
rules of his caste, a meeting of the same caste-people is held to 
investigate the matter, and if he is found guilty, he is sentenced 
to some punishment. This punishment may be a fine or some 
penance, or entire exclusion from caste. The penalties are often 
heavy, humiliating, and severe, as the payment of large sums of 
money, difficult ceremonial ablutions, painful penances, humiliat- 
ing confessions, eating and drinking things of a filthy and dis- 
gusting nature, but supposed to have some purifying efficacy. 
And the unhappy person is suspended from all the rights and 
privileges of caste till he has paid, or performed or suffered ail 
the penalty. It is amazing to see what men will give, and do, 
and suffer to recover their standing in their caste. But then 
there is no punishment so great and so severe as exclusion from 
caste. According to the Hindu laws a man excluded from his 
caste loses all his marital, parental, social, and civil rights. He 
is to be expelled at once from his house and his home, to be dis- 
owned by his family and his friends, and to be driven from all 
society. He is to be regarded as dead, and funeral rites of a 
peculiar character are to be performed for him. His legal heirs 
take possession of his property as though he were dead. His 
family, his friends, and aH his caste unite in executing the sen- 
tence which has been passed upon him. He can obtain no 
redress or sympathy by appealing to people of other castes, for 
the people of each caste always claim the right of managing 
such matters as they please, and one caste will not interfere with 
the proceedings of another caste. If he appealed to princes or 
to magistrates, they never interfered further than to ascertain 
that the proceedings had been according to the rules of caste ; 
they never changed these rules — for they are beUeved to be of 
divine origin, and the duty of kings and princes are to govern 
their people according to these rules and laws. 

The shudras, or fourth caste, are often called in the Institutes 
of Menu, " the servile class," and their state, civil, social, and 
religious, was extremely degraded. " Their duty was to serve 
the other classes (castes) without depreciating their worth." 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 471 

They are not described as being the chattels or property of the 
other classes, though such appears to have been the state of. 
some among them. They could acquire and hold property of 
any kind, and could dispose of it as they pleased. They could 
pursue the mechanical arts as joinery, masonry, etc. They 
might learn to read, to write, to paint, etc. Probably no kind 
of manual labor was prohibited. They could perform sacrifices 
but must not use the texts of the Vedas, nor the same ritual as 
the other castes. Brahmins were not allowed to teach them the 
Vedas, nor to assist them in sacrifice, nor to instruct them how 
to make any expiation for sin. To acquire the reKgious knowl- 
edge or to perform the reKgious rites of the other castes, was a 
crime.* The punishments to be inflicted upon shudras for vari- 
ous offences were far more severe than when committed by the 
other classes. Thus they were not only to be kept in greater 
ignorance, but to be punished more severely for their crimes. 

The kshatryas and vaishyas having been destroyed or no 
longer existing as pure castes, all who are not brahmins, 
are regarded as belonging to the mixed castes (the offspring of 
unlawful connections), or to some of the numerous classes into 
which the shudras have become divided, or to those who are re- 
garded as outcastes and included under the general name of 
pariars. Some of these classes have had for some generations, 
probably for some centuries, a different social and political po- 
sition from what is assigned to them in their shastras. As the 
kshatryas and vaishyas, if still existing, are not recognized as 
pure castes, the ground they originally occupied in the social 
and political system must be occupied by the remaining castes. 
Many brahmins are now engaged in secular occupations. They 

* " If a shudra gets by heart any part of the Vedas or the Shastras, the mag- 
istrates shall put him to death. If a shudra assumes the brahmiuical thread 
(the distinguishing badge of the brahmins) the magistrate shall fine him 800 
puns of cowries. If a shudra shall perform the yog (a religious rite) the magis- 
trate shall put him to death, or fine him 200 ashrafees." 

" If a shudra shall presume to read any part of the Vedas or Shastras or Pu- 
rans to a brahmin, a kshatrya, or a vaishya, the magistrate shall heat some bitter 
oil and pour it into that shudra's mouth ; and if a shudra listens to the Vedas or 
Shastras, then the oil, heated as before, shall be poured into his ears, and anseez 
and wax shall be melted together, and the orifice of his ears shall be stopped 
therewith." — Halhecl's Gentoo Code. 



472 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

engage without religious scruples in nearly all kinds of govern- 
pient service. They have been ministers of State, counsellors, 
secretaries, judges, clerks, military officers, and common soldiers. 
In some districts they are divided into two classes, one class 
preparing themselves to obtain their hvehhood by teaching re- 
ligious duties and performing reUgious rites, and the other pre- 
paring themselves for secular employment. This last class have 
no hesitation about engaging in the service of Europeans, Mo- 
hammedans, or Hindus of a lower caste than themselves, if they 
are not requked to do any thing contrary to their rules of 
caste. 

So men of the lower castes have often been princes, generals, 
merchants, soldiers, etc., and have had brahmins in their em- 
ployment. Still, whatever the business relations of the par- 
ties may be, each caste carefully observes the rules of its own 
order, and is expected carefully to avoid every thing which 
would be to the prejudice of the caste of the other party. There 
is thus mutual observance and forbearance, if not mutual re- 
spect. 

Such was the state of the Hindus for 2,000 or 3,000 years 
when living under their own governments. Nor until recently 
was it materially diflferent under the English government ; for 
the policy they adopted was to govern then- Hindu subjects ac- 
cording to Bindu laws and usages, and thek Mohammedan sub- 
jects according to the Mohammedan laws and usages. And 
such contmued to be their poHcy until 1836, when Lord Wil- 
liam Bentinck, then governor-general, passed a law or caused one 
to be passed, that, " In any civil suit where the parties are of dif- 
ferent religious persuasions, the laws of the Hindus, Mohamme- 
dans, or other reUgions, shall not be permitted to operate to de- 
prive such party or parties of any property to which but for the 
operation of such laws they would have been entitled." 

As this law was apphcable only to Bengal, and some of its 
provisions appeared to be difficult or imperfect, it had not much 
influence. No further laws affecting caste were passed till 1850, 
when the Marquis of Dalhousie, then governor-general, passed 
the following : — "So much of any law or usage in force within 
the British territories as infficts on any person forfeiture of rights 
or property, or may be held in any way to impair or affect any 



THE NATIVf) POPULATION. 473 

light of inheritance by reason of his or her renouncing, or having 
been excluded from the communion of any rehgion, or being de- 
prived of caste, shall cease to be enforced as law in the courts of 
the East India Company, and in the courts established by the 
Royal Charter within the said territories." This law was de- 
signed to give equal toleration and protection to all classes of 
people. The Hindus remonstrated and protested, but aU was in 
vain. The Act has become one of the laws of the country. No 
law in any country was ever more required, and no law ever 
produced more important results. 

This law places aU classes. Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, 
and Hindus, upon equal ground, permitting every man to 
profess and practise what religion he pleases, and to change 
his religion when he pleases, and retain his personal, family, 
and property rights. It was designed to confer upon the 
people of India the same liberty of conscience wliich the 
people in England and in the United States enjoy. And 
yet this law so reasonable and just, excited great alarm among 
the Hindus and Mohammedans, who regarded it as an uncalled 
for interference with their usages and rights, and designed to 
destroy the great bulwarks of their religion. Public meetings 
were held, earnest speeches were made, and exciting articles ap- 
peared in the native journals. Memorials were sent to the gov- 
ernor-general, and Court of Directors. And when these were 
found to be unavailing, a large sum of money was raised by sub- 
scription, and an English barrister of the supreme court in Cal- 
cutta was despatched with a memorial to England. In May, 
1853, I saw this memorial (signed by more than 8,000 names) 
presented to the House of Lords by Lord Monteagle, who made 
a speech in favor of the memorialists. Lord EUenborough (who 
had been governor-general of India) then made a speech, de- 
scribing what would be the unhappy consequences of this law, 
and deprecating any changes in the religious laws and usages 
of the people of India. Earl Granville then made a speech in 
reply, and the memorial was then referred to the Committee of 
the House on the state of India. The prayer of the memo- 
••ialists was not granted. 

40* 



474 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 

India, including a territory as large as aU Europe south of the 
Baltic and Russia, or all the United States between the Mis- 
sissippi and the Atlantic, extending through 26 degrees of lati- 
tude, containing 8 or 10 different nations, with as many different 
languages, and a population of 150 millions of inhabitants, must 
necessarily have great diversity of customs and manners. The 
difference between these nations in personal appearance, manners, 
and language, is nearly or quite as great as it is among the na- 
tions of Europe. The inhabitants of the northern parts are 
fairer than those in the Deckan and southern parts. Some peo- 
ple in the western and north-western provinces, as the Parsees, 
and Cashmerians, are but little darker than the inhabitants of 
the southern parts of Europe, while the natives of the Deckan, 
and the provinces south of it, are as dark and many of them 
darker than the mulattoes of the United States. Among the 
inhabitants of India are to be found people of every shade of 
complexion from a European or American of dark complexion 
to the common negro. But none of the inhabitants have the 
peculiar African features. They have black and straight hair, 
and dark eyes. People in the northern parts are of the average 
height of Europeans or Americans, but in the Deckan and in 
the provinces to the south of it, they are of less stature and 
lighter form. The Bengalees are not so large as the inhabitants 
of the north-west provinces, but are generally taUer than the peo- 
ple on the eastern and western coast of the peninsula. They 
have generally, very dark complexion for that latitude; they 
are effeminate in their appearance, and timid and servile in 
their manners. The Teloogoos, the Tamulians, and the Ca- 
narese, are more timid and servile in their intercourse with 
Europeans, and with superiors among their own people, than 
the Mahrattas or the Gujerattees. The climate in the north- 
ern parts of India makes it necessary for the inhabitants to 
wear more clothing in the cool months than the inhabitants of 
the peninsula wear. The men wear turbans, pagotas, and caps 
of various kinds and shapes. Those of the rich are of fine 
cloth, and elegant shape, while the poor have, generally, only a 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 475 

few yards of coarse cloth wrapped round the head. The rich 
wear long garments, the upper part fitted to the body and con- 
fined with a girdle or sash, and the lower part hanging loosely. 
The Mohammedans and Parsees generally wear loose trousers ; 
the EUndus wear a cloth wrapped round the body, fastened be- 
hind, and hanging loosely nearly to the feet. In the Deckan 
and the provinces south of it, the laboring classes generally wear 
but little clothing when in their ordinary occupation and in their 
houses. The shoes of all classes are commonly of clumsy make 
and appearance, and in the southern provinces are scarcely worn 
in the house. All classes, Mohammedans as well as Hindus, put 
off their shoes when they go into places of worship, or of any re- 
pute for sanctity. The women in the northern provinces are 
fairer and better looking than in the southern provinces. They 
also wear more clothing and adjust theu- dress with more taste 
and propriety, producing a more becoming and every way su- 
perior personal appearance. All classes of women are fond of 
ornaments. They wear jewels and rings in the ears and nose, 
rings on the fingers and toes, chains on the neck, and bracelets 
on their arms, their wrists, and their anldes. These ornaments 
are of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, coral, ivory, etc., often 
amounting in value to hundreds, and sometimes to many thou- 
sands of doUars. They appear sometimes to be really burdened 
with their ornaments. They take great pains and manifest 
much pride in ornamenting their children, both girls and boys. 
Small children whose whole clothing did not cost a dollar, will 
often have on them ornaments worth $100. Children are often 
robbed and sometimes murdered to obtain their ornaments. A 
large part of the property of many people consists of jewehy. 
The dowry given with daughters in marriage consists to a great 
extent in articles of this character, and is regarded as the prop- 
erty of the wife. These articles are worn at marriages, holidays, 
and other festive occasions, and consisting, as they do, chiefly of 
gold and silver, they can be converted at any time into money, 
without much loss. A large part of the precious metals in the 
country is in jewelry, and the supposed possession and value of 
such property occasions much of the thieving, robbing, plunder- 
ing, and murdering that take place. This fondness for orna- 
ments, their extravagance in procuring them, and ostentation in 



476 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

using them, are the cause of many evils to their possessors and 
to the community, and they have been the subject of much cen- 
sure and counsel, in the European and native papers, but hith- 
erto apparently with little effect. These things will apparently 
be the principal objects of desire and attention among the fe- 
males in India, as long as personal appearance shall continue to 
be the quality chiefly regarded. When education has produced 
a due appreciation of mental qualities in women, we may hope to 
see their excessive love of finery and pride of jewelry give place 
to more just views of character, and to the desued reformation 
of manners. 

For greater security in times of danger, and for convenience 
in social intercourse and transactions of business, the agricultu- 
ral population generally hve in villages. The distinctions and 
rules of caste also make it necessary for people to live in villages, 
so that those of the same caste may live near each other, and so 
have opportunities and facilities for social intercourse, and for 
the mutTial aid and protection which they require, but could not 
have if they Hved in the dispersed state of the rural population 
of the United States. In some parts of the country the villages 
are surrounded with high waUs, and entered through gates, 
which are closed or carefully guarded nights. Such walls have 
seldom been found necessary in the districts under the Enghsh 
government, and in many places they are becoming dilapidated. 
The houses are generally small, and badly constructed. They have 
seldom any glass windows, and the floors are commonly earth. 
Chairs and tables are seldom used, as people sit upon mats. 
Vessels for cooking and eating are of brass and copper, and 
those too poor to procure such, use coarse earthen vessels. In 
eating, their fingers serve for knives and forks. In some rural 
districts aU the furniture in the houses would not upon an aver- 
age exceed a few dollars' value. This furniture always includes 
one or more hand mills for grinding grain for the use of the fam- 
ily. Beds consist of a rude frame with a mat or mattrass upon 
them, or more frequently these are spread on the floor for the 
night and removed in the daytime. People generally make but 
little change in their dress for the night. Their practice of fre- 
quent bathing conduces to cleanhness and health. The villages 
generally have a few shops for the sale of grain, tobacco, coarse 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 477 

cloths, etc., and the large villages have appointed market-days or 
fairs, to which travelling traders, peddlers, and people from the 
hamlets resort. The villages generally contain one or two 
houses for travellers to lodge inside the gates, and so they have 
the same security as the inhabitants. The temple dedicated to 
the tutelary deity and containing his or her image, is generally 
just outside or inside the gate, and fronting it, so as to appear 
before people when going out or coming into the vUlage. 

In the large towns and old cities, the streets are generally nar- 
row and crooked, few of them being wide enough or kept in a 
state to allow carriages of any kind to pass. Many of the 
houses are two and three stories high, built of brick or stones 
and Kme, and the walls plastered on both sides. To Europeans 
they appear to be badly constructed, and as they have but httle 
glass in the windows, the rooms appear to be dark, gloomy, in- 
convenient, and uncomfortable. The merchants and bankers 
generally occupy the principal street, and sometimes their shops 
and houses surround a public square. They sit cross-legged on 
carpets in then- place of business on the floor, which is gen- 
erally raised about two feet from the ground. They are com- 
monly neat in their dress and personal appearance, and very 
courteous in their manners. They lend money to small traders, 
and to aU classes of people, and the rate of interest and dis- 
count is generally high. They often make advances of money 
to the native princes upon a mortgage of the revenues of certain 
districts, or the taxes of a certain kind, and to the farmers and 
cultivators of the land upon the security of then* crops. The 
bankers have much influence in the community, and they have 
often acted a conspicuous part in the political history of the 
country. Their general style of living is plain and frugal, but 
they expend money freely for ornaments, and also for the mar- 
riage of their children. They also sometimes spend large sums 
in gomg on pilgrimage to sacred places, in erecting temples, and 
in making tanks and large wells for pubHc use. Such works 
are declared in the shastras to be very meritorious, and they 
procure a much desired reputation for the performer and his 
family. A rich man in India is expected to do far more for his 
family connections, and he generally does do more for them, 
than men in similar circumstances do for their relations and 
cormections in the United States. 



478 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In Bengal, Gujerat, and the low grounds of the peninsula, 
rice is produced in large quantity. It is cooked in many differ- 
ent ways, and, mixed with sugar, butter, spices, and vegetables, 
forms the principal article of food. Li the hilly and table-lands 
of the Deckan, and in the northern provinces of the country, 
wheat, rye, and other kinds of grain are produced and generally 
used. The people of India, when compared with the inhabi- 
tants of the United States, eat but little meat. The brahmins 
and jainas religiously abstain from meat of every kind.* They 
will not even eat eggs, saying there is the germ of hfe in them. 
Some classes wdll eat no meat but fish. The Jews and Moham- 
medans do not eat pork. Hindus of aU classes abstain from eat- 
ing beef, but the great body of them will eat fish, fowls, goats, 
and sheep. Still they use these kinds of food sparingly. Prob- 
ably the rural population generally do not eat any kind of meat 
so often as once a week. In some instances people are so poor 
that they cannot procm-e meat. But people generally in the 
country districts could keep fowls if they wished to have them 
or their eggs for food, and the price of a sheep in the villages 
does not generally exceed half a dollar, and in some districts 
not more than 25 cents. 

Water is the common drink at meals and other times. To- 
bacco is chewed and smoked, (used most in the latter way,) but 
the quality of the Indian plant is not so strong as American to- 
bacco. All classes chew a pungent aromatic leaf called betel 
wdth areca-nut.) lime, and spices, mixed together. These sub- 
stances have some narcotic influence, but do not produce intox- 
ication. The use of sphituous liquors is prohibited to the 
brahmins, and it is disreputable among aU the higher classes. 

* Some earnest advocates for the use of only vegetable food in this country, 
have confidently expressed the opinion that if men would use only vegetable 
food, they "would gradually recover the patriarchal age. But unhappily for 
this opinion, no one has yet practised this mode of life long enough to prove by 
his own example, whether it is true or not. Now if the advocates of tliis opin- 
ion will only go to India, they can find thousands of people who have never 
eaten any kind of meat, nor did their ancestors eat any for more than 2,000 
years past, and yet these classes of people do not live any longer than other 
classes who are in similar circumstances for preserving health, and who possess 
equal means for curing and avoiding diseases. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 479 

Some people, generally of the lower classes, use arrack and other 
kinds of intoxicating liquor, and some smoke, and in various 
ways use the intoxicating and stupefying vegetable called ganja, 
or Indian hemp {cannabis sativa). Opium is eaten and smoked, 
and a liquor made from it is drank, in the districts where it is pro- 
duced. In the rural districts of the greater part of India, intem- 
perance is uncommon, and it is chiefly seen in the cities and 
towns under the Enghah government, where it has been intro- 
duced by a system of Hcensing persons to traffic in spirits. 
Drunkenness is most common in places which have grown up 
under the patronage and protection of the English government, 
where the European population is the largest, and their influence 
strongest, as in the cities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and 
at large military stations in the interior. The general opinion 
is that intemperance has been decreasing for some years past 
among the European population, while all admit that it has 
much increased among the native population since they came 
under Enghsh government. Temperance societies have been 
formed, and many natives as weU as Europeans have united in 
efforts to prevent the spread of intemperance, and to remove and 
diminish the causes which sustain it. 

The distinctions of caste are a great obstacle to free, social, 
and friendly intercourse. Among the wealthy it is a frequent 
practice and a work of great merit to give dinners to brahmins, 
but the person who gives the dinner, if he is not a brahmin, can- 
not eat with them or even be one of their company without 
eating. His presence in the company would poUute all the food, 
and make it unfit for any brahmin to eat. He can only look 
from some distance upon those who are feasting upon his liber- 
ality, and who will not allow him at whose expense they are 
eating, (and he may be their prince too,) to come near them, lest 
his touch should pollute the food they are eating. But among 
those of the same caste, eating together is a strong bond of 
union. Dinners are frequent and are regarded as evidence of 
good standing in the caste. While a man is under the censure 
of his caste, or any accusation of having violated any of its rules, 
he is excluded from all caste-dinners and ceremonies, and this is 
felt to be a great reproach and punishment. Dinners make an 
important part of family gatherings, and domestic and festive 



480 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

occasions, as marriages, etc. At such times the men and women 
always eat in separate places. People of aU classes eat with 
their hands, using their fingers instead of knives, forks, and 
spoons. They sit on mats and carpets, and not in chairs or at 
tables. 

The hunting of wild animals has always been one of the 
sports of India. The dreadful and much dreaded tiger, the 
noble and huge elephant, and the fearless lion are found in the 
forests, and hunting them has always been the favorite sport of 
the sovereigns of the country — a sport worthy of princes, kings, 
and emperors, if any kind of sport can have such a character.* 
Wild cattle, buffaloes, leopards, bears, wolves, several kinds o± 
deer, wild hogs, etc., are found in different parts of the country, 
and are generally the property of any one who can IdU- them. 
Mock battles in illustration of wars and actions described in 
their sacred books are sometimes exhibited by princes on a large 
scale. Fights between animals, as elephants, Uons, tigers, leop- 
ards, etc., are exhibited and draw great crowds of spectators. 
The amusements of the courts and kings in former times in- 
cluded dramatic exhibitions of a much higher character than 
any performances of this kind among the Hindus of the present 
age. There are 60 plays in the Sanscrit language. These ex- 
hibit more talent and taste than are to be found in similar works 
of any Asiatic nation ancient or modern, though they are infe- 
rior to the elaborated and finished dramas of Greece and Rome. 
These plays were performed in the royal palaces fitted up for the 
occasions before kings and their com-ts. Kalidas, the most cele- 
brated of the Hindu dramatic writers, Hved at the court of Vick- 
ramditya, who reigned in Awanti (the modern Oujein) about 
50 years before the Christian era, and his plays appear to have 

* But even in these kinds of sport the peculiarities of the southern Asiatic 
character were often conspicuous. The prince when on a hunting excursion 
would select his place and then send his servants and soldiers, often as numer- 
ous as a small army, to surround the land supposed to contain the game, and to 
urge it to the spot where the prince and his courtiers were waiting to shoot the 
animals as they passed a certain corner or reached a certain point. In this way 
the prince would have the honor and sport of killing all the game, unless he 
would permit his courtiers to assist him, while others would have aU the labor 
and the danger of bringing it all to him to be shot, and then of escaping from 
them if attacked. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 481 

been performed before the prince and his court. The perform- 
ers were men or women according to the respective parts, and 
the assemblies were of a mixed character. The parts of these 
plays and the manner in which they were performed, furnish an 
interesting picture of the ancient manners of the Hindus. They 
show that the exclusion of females from courts, assemblies, and 
public entertainments, was not the practice before the Moham- 
medan conquest. Among the ancient Hindus, women were per- 
mitted to appear freely and openly on public occasions. They 
assisted in dramatic exhibitions, and composed part of the as- 
semblies which witnessed these amusements. They formed 
a part in marriage festivities and bridal processions. They at- 
tended pubKc religious ceremonies and visited the temples when- 
ever they pleased. And such continues to be the custom in 
some provinces, where the Hindus have retained their liberty and 
their power. Exhibitions or performances of a theatrical char- 
acter are now very common in which one man is the principal 
speaker, aided by a few assistants and some musicians. In these 
performances females sometimes perform parts, but such parts 
are more frequently performed by men or boys in the dress of 
women. 

No class of Asiatics ever dance for their own pleasure or 
amusement, but there are persons who are dancers by profes- 
sion for the amusement of others.* These dancers are young 
women, and always supposed to be com'tesans. They generally 
constitute a company of one, two, or three dancers with several 
musicians who stand behind them. All classes of people are 
very fond of these entertainments, and money is freely expended 
in supporting them. Among the rich they are often in large 

* The southern Asiatics have no idea of pleasure in labor or exertion, un- 
less in the excitement called forth by some great motive. They wonder much 
when they see English gentlemen and ladies appear to find pleasure in dancing. 
They often attend English balls as spectators, and when some of them after 
looking at the dancing for a while were asked what they thought of it, they- 
replied that the English appeared to enjoy dancing, for if they did not find 
pleasure in it, they would not practise it, but they thought their own custom, 
much better, namely, instead of laboring so hard and wearying and exhausting, 
themselves by dancing, to hire persons whose professed business was dancing, 
and who could dance much better, and then sitting down themselves, or reclia- 
ing on their couches at ease, look on and see them dance. 

41 



482 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

halls elegantly furnished with carpets, couches, mirrors, chande- 
liers, etc. The dress and performance of the dancers are said to 
be not ungraceful nor offensive to propriety or decency, but as 
the performers are always v/omen of loose morals, such exhibi- 
tions cannot but have a licentious tendency. Indeed, it is said 
that the latter part of these entertainments is often designed 
and adapted to excite amorous passions and sometimes results in 
gross hcentiousness. These amusements have an unhappy in- 
fluence in promoting loose morals and in degrading the female 
character. The people are fond of chess,* cards, and some other 
games of skiU. They also practise several games of chance and 
have various ways of gambhng. 

The Hindu festivals are numerous, and all are more or less 
religious in their character. In most of these, however, the re- 
Hgious part or rites occupy but a small portion of the time. The 
people on such occasions generally omit all labor, and putting 
on their best clothes ride out in carriages or walk about where 
the principal objects of attraction are: — to see cmiosities and 
jugglers,f to procure fruits and sweetmeats, to reciprocate civil- 
ities and inquuies with friends, etc. In some instances, as on 
the Mohurrum, the chief festival of the Mohammedans in India, 
the people form long processions and proceed in order through 
the prmcipal streets preceded by bands of music and carrying 

* The invention of this celebrated game has been ascribed to the Hebrews, 
the Babylonians, and the Persians. But Sir W. Jones in his Dissertation " On 
the Indian Game of Chess," ascribes it to the Hindus. 

t Jugglery has been practised in India from very remote antiquity, perhaps 
as early as it was in Egypt. The jugglers travel about over the country in com- 
panies, and exhibit their feats and arts in the private grounds of the wealthy, 
and in the public and open places of towns and cities, trusting to the generosity 
of spectators for compensation. They generally have snakes of poisonous or 
uncommon kinds, which are exhibited in various ways. Some of these snakes 
will raise their heads and move them slowly to the sound of a pipe, played by 
one of the company. They handle these snakes, even the most venomous kind, 
without fear or injury. It is said and doubtless truly, that the poisonous fangs 
have been extracted. This however does- not always secure impunity, as such 
fangs in young snakes will sometimes grow again and inflict mortal wounds. 
These jugglers are remarkably expert in their feats of strength and agilitj', and 
in their tricks of deception. They are an ignorant and despised caste of peo- 
ple, and the general opinion of the other castes is that they worship evil spirits, 
and have the assistance of sucli beings in performing their feats and tricks. 



THE NATIVE POPULATIOIT. 483 

banners, or something which represents the origin and occasion 
of the festival. There is very little intemperance on such days 
and rarely any rows or quarrels, or accidents or injuries. 

The higher classes are very" attentive to all the customs and 
usages of official and social intercourse, and great importance is 
given to such ra.atters. At the durbars or levees of princes, the 
rank of every person who attends, is carefully determined, and 
each is seated according to his rank. The prince (raja, or em- 
peror, or whatever he may be,) takes the seat assigned and pre- 
pared for him, which is the most conspicuous place. AH pay 
their respects to him in succession, each presenting a gift 
called a nuzzur, for which he receives something, generally a 
dress, in return. The nuzzur generally consists of money, but 
may be of jewels, or some rare and curious article. People of 
rank are courteous and polite to all classes, and expect from 
others what they so freely give. Such is also the conduct and 
character of the lower classes. Indeed, there is more dignity, 
ease, and grace of manners, and a more careful observance 
of the civilities, rules, proprieties, and usages of official and 
social intercourse among all ranks and classes of people in 
India, than among the corresponding classes in Europe and 
America. 

But it must be acknowledged that the Hindus are a very de- 
ceitful people, and often while apparently so civil, so kind, and 
benevolent, are in heart and in purpose, the very reverse of what 
they appear to be. They have great power of dissimulation and 
hypocrisy. Their language abounds in compliment, flattery, 
and assurances of good-will, which often deceive Europeans, 
though not each other, for among themselves all appear at once 
to understand just how much and how little such language and 
assurances mean, and what reliance can be put upon them. 
The Hindus are very discriminating judges of character, and are 
seldom deceived by Europeans, or by one another. 

Perjury is fearfully common in the courts of justice. It is a 
frequent saying and a general opinion that men enough can be 
hired for a small sum to swear to their knowledge of things of 
which they know nothing, and to the truth of things which they 
know to be false. Enghsh magistrates of great experience in 
public business, have often declared that they could place but 



484 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

little reliance upon native testimony, especially upon that of the 
Hindus, unless it was corroborated by separate facts, and con- 
curring circumstances. The native character appears to be 
equally depraved in respect to bribery. In the Hindu and Mo- 
hammedan governments, men holding official situations gen- 
erally depended upon fees, bribes, and exactions, for compensa- 
tion. Salaries were almost nominal, and yet government fanc- 
tionaries of aU classes managed to accumulate large fortunes. 
Bribeiy and extortion in such governments were common, and 
the effects were very demoralizing and distressing. And bribery, 
notwithstanding all that can be done to prevent it, is yet not 
uncommon among the natives holding official situations under 
the English government. The Hindu sacred books justify false- 
hood, and even inculcate deceit in many specified cases. And 
such a code of morality, and the licentious character and im- 
moral conduct of their gods, the objects of their worship and 
adoration, leave us litile reason to expect much improvement 
in regard to telling the truth, tiU they have a purer code of mor- 
als, and begin to worship the Deity, whose actions are righteous, 
and whose attributes are holy. 



B U D H I S M . 

Budhism has been mentioned as a form or system of religion 
which existed in India at an early period. The origin of this 
rehgion is involved in much obscurity. Some orientalists have 
been of the opinion that it preceded brahminism. But the more 
general opinion has been that it originated in some efforts to re- 
form some of the brahminical doctrines, and became after 
a while a rival system. It was once the religion of some king- 
doms in the valley of the Ganges, but after long struggles, it 
was expelled from all continental India, except Nepaul, where it 
is still the religion of the country, though in some places it is 
much mixed with brahminical superstitions. It is also the relig- 
ion of the southern part of Ceylon, and of the countries east 
from Lidia, as Burma, Siam, and China. 

Budhism has differed much in its doctrines at different times, 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 485 

and also at the same time, as these have been set forth by its 
different professors. It is in vain to expect much truth, or reason, 
or consistency in such systems as Budhism and Brahminism, 
which were not only rival and conflicting systems, but the pro- 
fessors and followers of each could not agree upon its doctrines 
among themselves. It is enough to show the different doctrines, 
so far as these can now be ascertained, which were believed and 
professed among them. 

The most ancient doctrines of Budhism appear to have been 
atheistical, holding that the material universe is eternal, and 
that aU the changes which take place, are only the effect of 
the inherent and essential properties and quahties of matter. 
They professed to believe that the power of originating organi- 
zation, and then of producing in these organized forms aU the 
phenomena they exhibit, is inherent in matter, or nature as they 
call it, and that the agency which organized forms have in pro- 
ducing other forms, is the result of their inherent power, and re- 
quires no external aid or agent. To this supposed inherent and 
essential power of matter, they ascribe the origin and perpetua- 
tion of the human race and aU other beings, as well as the 
changes which take place in inanimate and inorganic matter. 

Some of the early Budhists appear to have believed in an infi- 
nite and self-existent Being, who created the material universe, 
or reduced its chaotic materials to form, and having communi- 
cated to them, or endowed them with all the various properties 
they now possess, again assumed a state of repose and uncon- 
cern about his works, and that the material universe by the 
operation and force of its communicated and now inherent 
power, continues and produces and exhibits all the endlessly 
diversified forms of existence and changes of matter, which 
compose the apparent world of life, action, and motion. 

Of these pretended pliilosophers, one class believe in no Crea- 
tor or Governor of the universe, and so are properly called athe- 
ists. The other class profess to beheve in an eternal and self- 
existent Deity, who created the universe, or reduced it to its 
present state and order, but who has since exerted no agency in 
it, or superintendence over it. They appear to be of the opin- 
ion that the inherent powers of matter, or nature as they call it, 
in certain pecuharly combined organizations, produces conscious- 

41* 



486 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ness, instinct, reason, volition, and the perception of moral rela- 
tions and qualities. They appear to believe that in some inex- 
plicable way, a kind of personal identity is acquired, and that the 
same being has successive states of existence, a kind of transmi- 
gration on the disorganization of oiie body into another. They 
believe that certain beings, called Budhas, have acquired the 
first rank in the scale of existence by a long course of virtuous 
actions and austerities in successive states of being or transmi- 
grations. 

The Budhists believe that the number of these Budhas who 
have thus raised themselves in the scale of beings is large,* and 
some of these at long intervals have appeared or become incar- 
nate again and again in the world to reform mankind and restore 
rehgion to its original purity. Among the most distinguished 
of these incarnations was Gaudama, who appeared at several 
different times. His last appearance or incarnation was at Be- 
nares in the 6th century before the Christian era. He reformed 
Budhism, which had become very much corrupted, and taught 
the system as it now exists. He also estabhshed its rules of 
worsMp and its moral precepts. He is now regarded by the 
Budhists as the head of theh* religion and of the religious world, 
and to continue so (though long since passed into a higher state 
of existence) till he shaU complete his allotted period which they 
generally hold to be 5,000 years. 

In a religion so widely spread and where in its progress it 
must have come in conflict with previous forms of superstition, 
much difference in doctrine and practice might naturally be ex- 
pected. The Budliists have a large body of literature which is 
as extravagant and absurd as the Purans. These works are in 
the Pali language which is the same with them in India, as the 
Sanscrit is with the brahmins. Pah appears to have been the 
language current in Magada, one of the ancient kingdoms on 
the Ganges where Gaudama was born and where Budhism was 
the prevaiHng religion for several centuries. Some of the kings 
of Magada were zealous in propagating this system. 

The Budhists differ from the brahmins in some doctrines 
which each class regard as fundamental, and it does not appear 

* Mr. Hodgson In Ms account of Budhism in Nepaul gives a list of 130 Bud- 
•ias of tlie first class. — Asiatic Resewches, vol. 16, p. 446. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 487 

strange that the two classes should call each other by odious 
names ; that the brahmins shall call the Budhists atheists, and 
the Budhists should call the brahmins polytheists. The Bud- 
hists deny the authority of the Vedas and Purans and have 
their own sacred books. They beHeve in the primitive and nat- 
ural equality of all manldnd, and allow no distinctions of caste. 
Among the Budhists the priests can be from any class in the 
community. They must live in a state of celibacy and conti- 
nence. They Kve together so far as their circumstances wiU 
permit, in monasteries, and are subject to particular rules of eat- 
ing, sitting, bathing, and sleeping. They carry their respect for 
animal life much further than the brahmins, for they do not eat 
after noon, nor drink after dark for fear of swallowing minute 
insects. Some of them carry a brush with them to sweep places 
before they sit down, lest they should crush some Jiving crea- 
tures. And some of them even keep a thin cloth over their 
mouths to prevent their taking in minute insects with their 
breath. As their priests can be from any class of the commu- 
nity, so they can at any time leave the priesthood, and resume 
their former place in the community. The difference betw^een 
the priests of the two systems is much greater than between the 
laity. And some of these differences are of a nature to be pe- 
culiarly offensive to the brahmins. 

The monuments of Budhism scattered over India show that 
its followers must once have been numerous, wealthy, and pow- 
erful. The cave-temples of Kennery in Salsette about 25 miles 
from Bombay, and of Karlee on the road from Bombay to 
Poona above the Ghats are Budhistical. Of the celebrated 
cave-temples of Elora, 16 miles north from Aurungabad some 
are Budhistical and some are brahminical, and some exhibit a 
mixture of both systems. Those last mentioned have the ap- 
pearance of havjng been first made by the Budhists, and after- 
wards altered and appropriated to brahminical worship. Many 
Hindu temples exhibit evidence of then* materials having previ- 
ously been used in Budhist temples. The history of neither 
party furnishes any reliable accounts of the struggles between 
them, nor by what means the brahmins succeeded in triumph- 
ing over their enemies. For 2 or 3 centuries after the time of 
Gaudama, the Budhists were active and zealous in propagating 



488 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

their religion, and it v/as at that time carried into Ceylon, where 
the inhabitants had previously practised demonolatry, similar to 
the religion of the primitive inhabitants of India. Budhism 
continues to be the religion of the southern part of Ceylon, 
though many of the lower class still practise the worship of 
demons, which is often called devil-worshipo From Ceylon 
Budhism v/as propagated eastwards to Burma, Siam, and China, 
and it is now supposed to be the religion of a larger number of 
the human family than any other system. 



MOHAMMEDANS. 

The Mohammedans of India are variously estimated at ^, 
Toj tV of the. entu'e population of the country. This appears 
to be a small proportion when we consider the great number of 
this religion who immigrated into the country, their avowed 
purpose in conquering it, the long period they governed it, and 
the eiforts they made to proselyte the inhabitants to their faith. 
And yet when we consider the population of India, commonly 
estimated at 150,000,000, the whole number of the Mohamme- 
dan population will probably amount to 15,000,000 or 18,000,- 
000. They are most numerous in the valley of the Ganges, 
where their power was first established and the invaders and 
immigrants chiefly settled. In some districts in Bengal they 
make one fourth, and in a few places are said to make nearly 
one half of the population. In the southern parts of the penin- 
sula their proportion is smaU ; in some districts they are not 
more than 1 in 25 or 30 of the population. It has been estima- 
ted that half of the Mohammedan population of India are de- 
scendants of the conquerors and immigrants from Persia, Af- 
ghanistan, and Arabia, and half are the descendants of prose- 
lytes from Hinduism during the Mohammedan dynasties. As 
the conquerors and the subsequent immigrations were from Per- 
sia and Afghanistan, so the peculiar type of the rehgion they 
introduced and propagated, resembled what has existed in those 
countries far more than the pure and primitive form wliich 
has existed in Arabia. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 489 

Persian was the court language among the Mohammedan 
princes of India, and it still continues to be used among their 
descendants. But the language in general use among the Mo- 
hammedans is Hindustanee, which is formed of the language 
they brought with them into India, and of Hindee or Hinduee, 
the language they found in the vaUey of the Ganges where they 
first estabhshed their dominion, and which was the chief seat of 
their power. Hindustanee may be called the mihtary language 
of India. It is easily acquired for colloquial purposes, and is 
the common medium of intercourse between Europeans and na- 
tives. It is easily combined with the vernacular languages, and 
so varies very considerably in different parts of India. The Mo- 
hammedan population is so much dispersed over the country, 
and their language is so easily acquned and aheady so much 
used, that some orientalists have urged the expediency and im- 
portance of making Hindustanee the lingua franca of the whole 
country. But this attempt is not likely to be made, and if made, 
would fail of success. 

Some of the native princes are Mohammedans and a few of 
them, as the Nizam of Hydrabad, the Nabob of Lucknow, and 
some others, yet retain considerable territory and power. But 
these, through a failure of direct heirs to succeed them, or the 
mismanagement of their affairs, are diminishing in number, in- 
fluence, and power, and it appears not unlikely that in a few 
years aU will be divested of territorial possessions, and be re- 
duced to a state of dependence upon the English for pensions 
and annuities to sustain some shadow of their former pa- 
geantry. The generally acknowledged principles of Moham- 
medan governments in matters of war, finance, the adminis- 
tration of justice, etc., are superior to those of the Hindus. But 
we look in vain for any evidence of then* superiority in the state 
of their territories, which are generally in a bad state. Their 
misgovernment originates in part in the feehngs of contempt 
they cherish towards aU. who are not of their faith, and the va- 
rious offensive and oppressive ways in which they manifest 
these feelings. 

Mohammedans in India aU practise cu'cumcision and attach 
great importance to it. The rite is generally performed by bar- 
bers, and it may be performed at any time before the loth year. 



490 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

They carefully abstain from eating pork. Their princes have 
often been intemperate, but the great body of the people, so far 
as I have seen them, do not use any kind of spirituous liquors, 
and drunkenness among them is disreputable and is seldom seen. 
I never heard of any Mohammedan being in any way engaged 
in trafficking in liquors. The general sentiment among them 
would not allow any one of their faith to follow such business 
in any place I knew. Polygamy is practised. Their domestic 
habits are such that it is difficult to know how far this custom 
exists. Then* princes generally have several wives and concu- 
bines, but few of them have so many as their prophet Mo- 
hammed had. Wealthy men have generally more than one 
wife, and instances of polygamy are not unfrequent among the 
middling and lower classes. Perhaps taking aU the population, 
one man in 5 or 6 may be a polygamist. But the custom pre- 
vails more in some provinces than in others. This custom has 
a very unhappy influence on families and on the general state of 
society. It is not a corruption of their system but an integral 
part of it. Mohammed himself practised it, and it has his au- 
thority in his example as well as in the doctrines he taught. So 
Mohammedanism can never be reformed so as to forbid poly- 
gamy, and this practice more than any thing else in the system 
is working the destruction of the countries and communities 
which profess this religion. 

The Mohammedans have more intellectual character than the 
Hindus. This superiority appears to be the natural result of the 
more rational and consistent doctrines concerning God, his at- 
tributes, and his providence, contained in the Koran, than any 
doctrines found in the Hindu sacred books or in their worship. 
The object contemplated in rehgious worship must exert very 
considerable influence upon the mental character of any people, 
and when looking at the Hindu deities and at their rites and 
ceremonies, I have often wondered that the people who profess 
and practise such a religion do not become more stupid and dull 
of understanding than they are. The Mohammedans have gen- 
erally more physical strength than the Hindus, which is owing 
probably in part to their northern origin, and in part to their 
eating more meat for food. 

Mohammedans have generally a great contempt for the relig- 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 491 

ion of the Hindus. They abhor it for its polytheism and idola- 
try. When I went to Lidia the Koran had not, so far as I know, 
been printed in India. AJl copies of it were in manuscript and 
were scarce and costly. Some 10 or 12 years ago an attempt 
was made in Bombay to print the Koran in lithography and 
succeeded well. They were so pleased with these copies that 
other editions of different sizes were soon printed and many 
thousand copies were issued. They were purchased and carried 
or sent to be sold in Arabia, Persia, and other countries. For 
the last 10 years I was in India, as good a copy of the Koran 
could be purchased for one doUar as could be procured for 8 or 
10 dollars for the first 10 years I was there. One rich man was 
so pleased with these printed copies that he printed an edition 
of 1,000 copies in beautiful style and distributed them. Rich 
men also often purchased a number of copies and distributed to 
people around, and sent them into those parts of the country 
where the Koran was supposed to be scarce. And such hberal- 
ity and zeal have not been limited to Bombay. A native prince 
at Lucknow not long since expended $2,500 on an edition of 
the Koran in Arabic with a Hindustanee translation and com- 
mentary, which was designed for gratuitous cii'culation. Thus 
private zeal and liberality supplied the want of a Koran Society 
to furnish the destitute. I should not be surprised to hear of 
the formation of Koran Societies upon the plan, object, and 
agency of Bible Societies. 

There is no priesthood among the Mohammedans in India. 
A man who can read and expound the Koran is called a Moo- 
lah. As people generally do not understand the language of the 
Koran (which is Arabic), they often assemble in the mosques 
and private houses to hear the Koran read and explained. Mo- 
hammedans fast during the month of Uamazan in India, as they 
do in Turkey and other countries. The fast consists in not 
eating or drinking any thing in the daytime. In the night they 
may eat and drink as much as they wish. Still tliis m.ode of 
fasting for a whole month is often a severe duty, and hard dis- 
cipline. In many places are the tombs of reputed saints which 
are held in great veneration, and many people in then- vicinity 
make vows to them. These saints have generally an anniver- 
saiy or annual festival, when people assemble, often many thou- 



492 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

sands, to perforin their vows and offer their prayers to the saints. 
These reputed saints occupy a place among the Mohammedans 
in India similar to what Romish saints have among the Roman 
Catholics in Europe. Mohammedanism in India consists much 
in local usages and popular superstitions, which have no author- 
ity in the Koran. Many go on pilgrimages to Mecca, and such 
as live to return are afterwards much respected among their 
people. 

The Mohammedans are fond of religious discussion and con- 
troversy. Not restrained by any rules of caste, they can asso- 
ciate freely with Europeans. A few distinguished men among 
them have become Christians and honored their profession, but 
they are generally more opposed to Christianity than the Hin- 
dus. They have made considerable use of the press within a 
few years past for vindicating their reUgion and confirming the 
faith of their people. The most spirited controversy between 
Mohammedanism and Christianity has been in Northern India. 
Some able works have there been published on both sides, and 
the subject has excited much attention. 

Christian writers on Mohammed have generally said that he 
performed no miracles and acknowledged in the Koran that he 
had not power to perform any, and they refer to places which 
are supposed to acknowledge or imply this want of power. But 
the Mohammedans do not admit that then* prophet wanted this 
evidence of his mission's being divine. So far from this they 
beUeve that he performed many and wonderful miracles, and 
that signs and mnacles and prodigies in testimony of his divine 
mission were frequently taking place around him. A work 
called the " Light of Mohammed," printed at Lucknow, at 
Agra, and at Carrapore, contains accounts of more such mira- 
cles and prodigies than aU that are in the New Testament. Of 
this work 12 editions had been printed when I left India, and 
devout Mohammedans appeared to have entire confidence in its 
assertions and statements. Such views of Mohammed, of his 
mission and his works are more firmly and generally held by the 
Mohammedans in the northern parts of India, who have ob- 
tained their religion and their traditions from Persia, than in the 
southern parts where they have obtained thek principles from 
Arabia. 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 493 

The Mohammedan religion has made but little progress in 
India since the decline of their political power. Now and then 
some Hindu who has lost caste or is involved in trouble with his 
own people, will join the Mohammedans and become incorpo- 
rated with them. According to the Hindu theory of caste, any 
person not a Hindu, whoever and whatever he may be, is lower 
than any Hindu who has always observed the rules of his caste. 
But practically the Mohammedans occupy a much higher social 
position even in the view of the Hindus themselves than the 
low caste Hindus. So when a Hindu of low caste becomes a 
member of the Mohammedan community, he rises in the social 
scale and in general respectability. Considering the state and 
circumstances of the low caste Hindus and the manner in which 
they are treated by the high castes, and that by becoming Mo- 
hammedans they at once come under their protection and often 
secure other advantages, as employment, relief from pecuniary 
embarrassment, a marriage connection, etc., (for the Moham- 
medans hold out these advantages to proselytes,) it appears 
strange that more Hindus do not become Mohammedans. 

The progress of Christianity and other causes now in opera- 
tion in India, wiU strongly affect the Mohammedans in common 
with all other classes of the native population, and when they 
see the Hindus losing aU confidence in their sacred books, neg- 
lecting their idolatries and rites and ceremonies, some of them 
becoming Christians and others sinldng into scepticism and in- 
difference to aU religion, it appears not unlikely that the Moham- 
medans may become animated with zeal for propagating their 
faith, and that this religion may spread faster than it ever did 
when urged on by aU the force of political power and war 
against Hinduism in the state it then was. There is no prospect 
of Mohammedans again acquiring much political power in India, 
but considering the state of the native population and the vari- 
ous causes in operation affecting their religious character, it does 
not appear improbable that Mohammedanism may yet spread 
and become the religion of a much larger proportion of the peo- 
ple of the country before it shall be numbered one of the prov- 
inces of the kingdom of Immanuel, and its inhabitants become 
his obedient and happy subjects. 

42 



494 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



THE PAESEES. 

The Parsees are a class of people who live chiefly in the 
western parts of India. Their number was found at the late 
census of Bombay, to be about 75,000 in that small island. 
They are also numerous in Gujarat, and a few are settled in 
most of the seaports and large cities in the southern countries 
of Asia. Their ancestors fled from Persia some centuries ago 
to escape the persecutions of the Mohammedans, and after 
wandering about for considerable time, became quietly settled 
in Gujerat. They are the most inteUigent, wealthy, and enter- 
prising of any class in the native population of India. The 
religion of their ancestors when they escaped from Persia, was 
the system of Zoroaster, the same as the rehgion of the ancient 
Persians, in the times of Cyrus and Xerxes. Their Scriptures 
are called the Zend Avesta, and are ascribed to Zoroaster. There 
has been much diflerence of opinion in respect to the time when 
he lived, how many there were of this name, and whether the 
work, called the Zend Avesta, was reaUy written by any one of 
this name, or was not rather written long after the reputed 
epoch of any of the Zoroasters. 

The Zend Avesta comprises several parts which are seldom 
used together. These are called the Vandidad, the Yasna or 
Izashne, and the Vispard. The Parsees appear generally to be- 
lieve in two self-existent and eternal Beings, called Hormazd, the 
good deity, and Ahriman, the bad deity. The former produces 
all the good and the happiness that are in the world, and the 
latter produces aU the evil and the misery that are in the world. 
Some beheve that both these deities derive their being from one 
anterior, called Zarwan, though who and what this being was 
or is, they are not agreed. They believe in great numbers of 
good and evil angels, who have the power and the disposition 
to interfere in human affairs, and then* religion consists in part 
of rites and supplications to procure the aid and protection of 
the one class, and of deprecations and other means to avert the 
power and displeasure of the other class. They have great rev- 
erence for fire, and they worship, gazing at the sun, moon, and 
stars, and often at fire wherever seen. Some among them say 



THE NATIVE POPULATION. 495 

they contemplate the sun, moon, etc., only as symbols of the 
Deity, and that their worship is reaUy aimed to the invisible, 
omnipresent, and* omnipotent God. But probably many and 
perhaps rhost of them when gazing upon the sun in their wor- 
ship, think of nothing beyond the visible object they are con- 
templating. 

In their temples consecrated fire is kept continually burning. 
It is preserved with much care, and many rites and ceremonies 
are performed upon it and to it. Fragrant kinds of wood, 
gums, spices, etc., are thi'own upon it, or offered to it. Their 
reverence for fire prevents then' even using it for the self-indul- 
gence of smoldng tobacco, or any other substance. And as 
gunpowder can only be used in connection with fire, their rev- 
erence for this element prevents their using gunpowder for the 
destruction of human or of animal life. So they never become 
soldiers nor huntsmen. I am not aware that they ever make an 
image or symbol of any deity, and consecrating it, worship it as 
the Hindus prepare and worship the idols of their deities. But 
the Parsees address their prayers and praises to great numbers 
of supposed spiritual beings. They also address their prayers to 
created objects in such a way and spirit as appear clearly to de- 
serve the name of religious homage. 

The manner in which they dispose of their dead is peculiar. 
The Hindus generally burn their dead. The Mohammedans 
bury their dead. But the Parsees neither burn nor bury their 
dead. Large cemeteries are prepared with much labor and ex- 
pense. They are open, (have no covering over them,) and are 
surrounded with high walls. They are intrusted to a particular 
class among them, and no others ever go into them. These 
persons take charge of aU dead bodies, and perform the ceremo- 
nies of disposing of them. These bodies are carried into the 
cemeteries and deposited there, exposed to the sun, atmosphere, 
etc. The bodies of the wealthy are covered with a screen of 
brass wire, but the bodies of the common people have no cov- 
ering put over them, and so are soon devoured by vultures, 
crows, etc., which may generally be seen in great numbers hov- 
ering over the cemeteries, and sitting on the walls. The bones 
are fi-om time to time collected and put into a part of the cem- 
etery till they are all decomposed. They attach great impor- 
tance to their rites of burial. 



496 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Many of the Parsees are wealthy, have large and well-fur- 
nished houses, well-cultivated gardens, keep elegant carriages, 
etc. "Women occupy a higher social position among them than 
among the Hindus or Mohammedans. Many women have 
some education, and the higher classes have shown a desire to 
have their daughters educated, and have established schools for 
this purpose. They have evinced more public spuit and liber- 
ality, and they associate with Europeans more than any other 
class of the native population.* A considerable number of them 
have been to Europe. Several Parsees have professed Chris- 
tianity, and among the native ordained missionaries in India, 
are two well-educated and respectable men who were originally 
Parsees, but are in connection with the Free Church of Scotland 
in Bombay. 

* The North American Keview for July 1, 1851, contains a notice of Sir 
Jamsetjce Jejeeblioy, one of the Parsee merchants of Bombay. I was ac- 
quainted with Sir Jamsetjee, and saw many instances and monuments of his 
liberahty. It has been lately stated in some of the Bombay journals, that the 
amount of his benefactions to public works and institutions, the cause of educa- 
tion, and to objects of charity and religion, has exceeded 1,000,000 dollars. And 
yet he is in possession of a princely fortune, all the result of his own industry 
and enterprise. 



PAI^T VI. 
CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA* 



CHAPTER I. 

THE SYRIAN CHURCHES OF MALABAR. 

The early history of Christianity in India is involved in much 
obscurity. Eusebius, the father of ecclesiastica;l history, says 
that " St. Bartholomew went to India." Socrates, who contin- 
ued Eusebius's work, says, that in the division of the gentile 
world, which the apostles made among them, " India was as- 
signed to St. Bartholomew." It appears uncertain, however, 
from his description of the country called India as contiguous to 
Ethiopia, what country was then intended by this name. And 
in another part of his work he says that India was not enlight- 
ened by the gospel till the reign of Constantine, or some time in 
the early part of the 4th century. There have also been many 
traditions in India that St. Thomas preached the gospel at dif- 
ferent places in that country. Such have been the traditions of 
the Syrians or Nestorian Christians on the coast of Malabar, and 
these traditions have generally been believed by the Roman 
Cathohc missionaries in India. But no mention is made of 
the tradition by Eusebius or Socrates, from which we may infer 
that they knew nothing of it, or if they did, that they had no 
confidence in it. Indeed, it is said that no mention of any such 
tradition is found in any of the Latin or Greek historians before 
the 14th century. 

La Croze in his learned work called the History of Chris- 
tianity in India, sums up these traditions thus : — "In the divis- 

* An account of the Ecclesiastical Establishment for the European population 
has been given (see p. 308 and 358). This Part has respect to the propaga- 
tion and state of Christianity among the native population. 

41* (497) 



498 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ion of the world which was made by the Apostles, India feU to 
the lot of St. Thomas, who after having established Christianity 
in Arabia Felix and in the island of Socotra, proceeded to 
Cranganore, where the principal king of the country then resided. 
It was there that the fabulous adventures happened, of which we 
read in this Apostle's Ufe, written by the pretended Abdias of 
Babylon. The Apostle having estabhshed many churches at 
Cranganore, proceeded to Quilon, a large city on the same coast 
where he converted many persons to the Christian faith. From 
this place he proceeded to the eastern coast, now called Coro- 
mandel, and lived for a while at Meliapore, a town now called 
by Em-opeans St. Thome, where he is said to have converted 
the king and all the people. Here a persecution arose, and the 
good Apostle was put to death by the idolaters, who were set 
on by their priests, the Brahmins." 

Such is the sum of the traditions concerning St. Thomas 
in India, and they are generally believed by the Syrian Chris- 
tians of Malabar and by Roman Catholics. But La Croze does 
not think them worthy of any credit. Some learned Roman 
Catholics in Europe do not put any confidence in these tradi- 
tions. AU ancient churches had strong motives, in their desires 
to sustain then- comparative superiority, or at least their equality 
in rank, as well as to justify their doctrines and practices, to as- 
cribe their origin, rules of discipline, etc., to the Apostles. And 
the reasons for their wishing for the reputation of having such an 
origin generally increased, as they departed more and more from 
the plain doctrines and simple usages of primitive Christianity. 
The best Protestant ecclesiastical historians say nothing concern- 
ing these traditions, from which it is evident they did not con- 
sider them as deserving any credit or consideration. 

Christianity was early established in Egypt, and the church in 
Alexandria gloried in having been founded by St. Mark, and ' 
having him for her first bishop. There was then much com- 
merce between Europe and India through Egypt, and many 
Christians would in this way visit the countries on the Red Sea 
and India. The people engaged in this commerce would soon 
become acquainted with the gospel, and considering the ear- 
nestness and ardor which then pervaded Christians generally, 
many would be hkely soon to embrace it. At the Council of 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 499 

Nice, in A. D. 325, Johannes, one of the bishops, signed his name 
as Bishop of Persia and India. There is not sufficient reason 
for believing that Christianity had made any considerable pro- 
gress at that time in India ; probably the territory designated by 
this name was the country adjoining Persia, perhaps on the In- 
dus. There is evidence that the Syrian or Nestorian churches 
in Malabar were commenced as early as the 5th or 6th centu- 
ries, and perhaps before that time. The Mohammedan religion 
had its origin in the 7th century, and Mohammedans soon ob- 
tained possession of the countries separating India from Europe, 
and for a long period little was definitely known in Europe con- 
cerning the state of Christianity in the southern countries of Asia. 
In the 9th century there was an Armenian, some accounts de- 
scribe him as a merchant and some describe him as a bishop, 
perhaps he united the business of the former with the dignity 
and office of the latter, who lived somewhere on the Malabar 
coast. He was a man of "immense wealth," and obtained 
large privileges from the kings of the country for the Christians. 
From this time they had some government of their own. Their 
chief is called Raja in the history of the country. This title 
would not necessarily imply that he was not dependent upon, or 
subordinate to, some king or prince of the country, though in- 
vested with power over the Christian population, somewhat hke 
the state in which Christian communities have often been in 
Mohammedan countries, and now are in the Turldsh dominions. 
The Portuguese were surprised to find on their arriving in In- 
dia a large body of people professing the Christian rehgion, and 
on inquiring into the state and faith of these Christians they 
were yet more surprised to find they were so heretical in their 
doctrines and discipline. They had never heard of the Pope, 
they knew nothing of the Latin language, and could trace their 
history for 1,300 years to the patriarch of Babylon, Seleucia, or 
Mosul, probably a succession of patriarchs, only having their 
residence in different places. At that time the Popes claimed to 
be the spiritual head of aU the world, nor were they at all scru- 
pulous in respect to means for enforcing obedience to their 
supremacy. The purpose of the court of Rome, as soon as the 
state and character of the Syrian Christians became known, was 
formed to bring them into subjection. The court of Lisbon and 



500 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

all the Portuguese ecclesiastics were expected to cooperate as 
good Catholics in using means in bringing about this great end. 
The Portuguese bishop and all his ecclesiastics said to the Mal- 
abar Christians, " Your church belongs to the Pope, and you 
must acknowledge him for your spiritual head." The Malabar 
Christians replied, " We never before heard of any Pope, and 
we have no need of him to govern us." Still they were dis- 
posed to treat the Romanists with kindness and in the spirit of 
Christian fellowship. They permitted them to preach in their 
churches, and they hoped to derive benefit in various ways from 
intercourse with them and from their power and influence with 
the princes of the country. The E-omanists had only one object 
to accomplish, namely, to bring the Syrians into subjection to 
the Pope ; and all their intercourse, and influence, and efforts 
were directed to this end. An ecclesiastic called Father Vincent 
opened a school called a college at Cranganore to spread the 
doctrines of his church. A similar school was subsequently 
opened at Voipecotta. These efforts very much disturbed and 
alarmed the Syrians, while yet they did not produce the effects 
which the Romanists expected. So some more decisive meas- 
ures were deemed necessary, and various schemes were consid- 
ered. As the Syrian bishop v/as the principal obstacle to their 
success, the Romanists resolved to remove him. He was arrested 
at Cochin, carried a prisoner to Goa, and thence sent to Portu- 
gal. It was their intention to send him to Rome. But soon 
after arriving in Lisbon, finding himself in a strange country 
and a prisoner in the hands of his enemies, his fortitude began 
to fail. He had an interview with one of the cardinals, to whom 
he so far acknowledged the supremacy of the Pope and prom- 
ised to reform the churches under his spiritual jurisdiction that 
it was deemed expedient to send him back to India. The Ro- 
manists were fearful of the consequences of his being removed 
in the manner he was, and of his long absence from his people. 
Nor were their fears without some reason. The Syrians, de- 
prived of their spiritual head, and fearful that yet more violent 
means would be used, took measures to procure another bishop 
from Mosul, and he arrived among them and entered upon the 
duties of Ms office before his predecessor returned from Portu- 
gal. A schism now took place among the Syrians. One party 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 501 

was supported by all the power and influence of the Portu- 
guese, and the other contained the greater part of the Syrian 
Christians. In the progress and continuance of this schism, one 
Syrian bishop was seized and sent to Portugal and thence to 
Rome. This bishop appears to have been a man of weak char- 
acter, if not of corrupt principles, and he is accused of having 
been sometimes guilty of much duplicity and hypocrisy. Another 
bishop was carried to Lisbon, and there died in prison. His 
only crime appears to have been a determination not to acknowl- 
edge the Pope's supremacy, nor to change the creed of his 
church to make it agree with the church of Rome. And for the 
same reasons another bishop was carried a prisoner to Goa and 
perished in the Inquisition. These aggressive measures were 
continued on the part of the Portuguese, and at a Provincial 
Council held in Goa in 1585, which the Syrians were summoned 
to attend, several decrees were passed concerning the state and 
doctrines of their church. 

Li 1599, Archbishop Menezes, having been for some time 
making previous arrangements among the Romanists and the 
Syrians, convoked the great synod of Diamper. At this synod 
the Archbishop presided, and among the decrees one was that 
" aU the Sjnrian books on ecclesiastical subjects, that could be 
found, should be burned." This decree was immediately carried 
into effect, and even to this day " the Syrians say that while the 
books were burning, the Archbishop went round the church in 
procession chanting a song of triumph." Concerning the coun- 
cil at Diamper and other means used to bring these churches 
into subjection to the Pope, Mosheim in his history of the 16th 
century, says, " The Christians of St. Thomas who inhabited 
the coasts of India, suffered much from the methods employed 
by the Portuguese to engage them to embrace the doctrine and 
discipline of the Church of Rome, and to abandon the reKgion 
of their ancestors, which was much more simple and infinitely 
less absurd. The finishing stroke was put to the violence and 
brutality of these attempts by Don Alexis de Menezes, Arch- 
bishop of Goa, who about the conclusion of this century, call- 
ing the Jesuits to his assistance, obliged this unhappy and reluc- 
tant people to embrace the religion of Rome and to acknowledge 
the Pope's supreme jurisdiction, against both of which acts they 



502 INDIA., ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

had always expressed the utmost abhorrence. These violent 
councils and arrogant proceedings of Menezes and his associates 
were condemned by such of the Roman Catholics as were most 
remarkable for their equity and wisdom." * 

The Syrian Christians appeared for a while to be astonished 
and bewildered by the violence of these proceedings, and the 
power apparently arrayed against them and liable to fall upon 
them, if they should incur its further displeasure. Some of the 
priests and churches continued in connection with Rome, using 
their liturgy in the Syrian language but altered and expurgated 
by Menezes. These have been called " the Syrio- Roman 
Christians," and are chiefly near the sea-coast. But many of the 
priests and churches refused to conform to this new order of doc- 
trine and discipline, and have retained their ancient liturgy, 
rites, and ministry. These are called by their former name, " the 
Syrian Christians of Malabar." 

For a long time little was known concerning these Christians 
in Europe or in America, and many yet living can remember 
the feelings of deep interest which were excited by Buchanan's 
account of them in 1807. The Chm-ch Missionary Society sub- 
sequently commenced a mission among them in the hope of 
effecting a reformation of doctrine and discipline. These efforts, 
however, have not produced the good results which were expected, 
these churches still retaining their long cherished forms, doctrines, 
rites, etc. Gibbon, near the close of the last century estimated 
the whole population of the Syrian Christians at 200,000. The 
Abbe Dubois was of the opinion they did not exceed 100,000 
of whom two thirds were Romish Spians. The Annals of the 
Propagation Society in a late No. say, that the Romish Syrio- 
Christians amount to nearly 100,000. The number of the ori- 
ginal churches is about 50,000. 

The Kturgies of the Syrian Christians and their formularies of 
worship, and of their rites and ordinances, are in the ancient 
Syriac language, which very few among them understand, and 
it is not strange that early travellers among them should be mis- 
taken in some matters, and so pubHsh accounts of their doc- 

* A particular account of these violent measures of Menezes is given by La 
Croze in his Histoire du Christianisme aux Indes. Also by Hough in his History 
of Christianity in India, who has given the Decrees of the Council of Diamper. 



CnPtlSTIANITT IN INDIA. 503 

trines, etc., which further inquuy and research have shown to be 
in some respects incorrect. Their liturgies, formularies, etc., 
have been carefully examined and translated into Enghsh, by 
Dr. Mill, of Bishops CoUege, and by Rev. J. Peet, who for many 
years Hved among them. The following is given as a summary 
of the errors they contain. 

" The principal errors of the Syrian Church may be enumera- 
ted under the following heads : — 

1. Transubstantiation. . 

2. The sacrifice of the Mass, in which it is said that the 
priest offers Christ for the quick and the dead to give remission 
of pain and guilt. 

3. Prayers for the dead. 

4. Purgatory, or the possibility of transition from an unpar- 
doned to a pardoned state between the period of death and 
judgment. 

5. Worshipping the virgin Mary, supplicating her interces- 
sion, and observing a fast in her honor. 

6. Worship of saints. 

7. Prayers in an unknown tongue. 

8. Extreme unction. 

9. Attributing to the clergy the power to curse and destroy 
men's bodies and souls. 

10. The having pictures in their churches representing God 
the Father. 

11. Prayers to the altar and to the chancel. 

Connected with these are the elevation of the host, the burn- 
ing of incense and ringing of beUs at the time of elevation, 
the priest receiving the host alone, etc." 

These are certainly all very grave, and some of them funda- 
mental errors, and they have formed a part of their doctrines, 
and been incorporated in their rules and worship of their 
church for some centuries, probably from their first settlement 
in India. Great changes are required to reform such errors, and 
to restore such a church to the purity and simplicity of the Gos- 
pel. 



504 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



CHAPTER II. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS AND CHURCH IN INDIA. 

To spread a knowledge of the Romish faith, was one of the 
avowed objects of the Portuguese in prosecuting their voyages 
of discovery, and maldng their conquests in heathen countries. 
For this purpose missionaries of different orders, as Jesuits, Do- 
minicans, etc., went out in their ships to remain in the countries 
discovered, and to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. 
Many people also of different trades and professions went out 
in these ships, and became permanent residents in the places 
of which the Portuguese took possession. Thus numerous 
colonies were formed. " Immediately on their taking posses- 
sion of Goa, a church was dedicated to St. Catharine, who 
was solemnly chosen to be the patroness of the city, and the 
protectress of the Portuguese in India." Marriages between the 
Portuguese and the native inhabitants were encouraged by the 
Portuguese authorities, and they became frequent. It is said 
by one of the Portuguese historians in praise of Albuquerque, 
the greatest of aU their viceroys in India, that he did much to 
promote intermarriages between his countrymen and the inhab- 
itants of the country, and, as in all such cases the native party 
was always required to profess the Romish faith, the nominally 
Christian population in the Portuguese settlements was by these 
means greatly increased. 

In 1542, the celebrated Francis Xavier reached Goa. He had 
acquired a high reputation for piety in Europe, and had long 
felt a strong desire to preach the Gospel in heathen countries. 
His conduct, on reaching the long-desired field of his future la- 
bor, was in accordance with his profession and character. He 
passed the first night alone in one of the churches that he might 
have all the time for undisturbed meditation and prayer. There 
were many priests and monks then in Goa, and all were under 
the superintendence of a bishop, but the state of religion was 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 505 

very low. Xavier's zeal and labors soon excited attention, and 
he had the satisfaction of seeing some reformation of manners, 
and better attendance upon the sacraments. Having spent 
a few months in Goa, he proceeded into the distiicts near Cape 
Comorin. The people here were pariars and fishermen. Some 
of them had been baptized by missionaries who had previously 
been among them, but the greater part were still heathen in 
profession, and all were much ahke in practice. In a letter to 
some of his friends he wrote : — " You may judge what manner 
of life I lead here by what I relate to you. I am wholly igno- 
rant of the language of the people, and they know as little of 
mine, and I have no interpreter. All I can perform is to bap- 
tize the children and serve the sick, an employment easily un- 
derstood without the help of an interpreter, by only minding 
what they want." It appears from a further account, that he 
afterwards got the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and 
some passages of Scripture translated into the language of the 
people, and these lessons he committed to memory. He says, 
" I went about with my bell in my hand and gathered all I met, 
both men and children, and instructed them in Christian doc- 
trine as well as I could." His zeal and earnest affection towards 
them, so unlike any thing they had ever before seen, excited 
their attention and sympathy, and according to his views of 
conversion, his labors were accompanied with great success. 
In his account of his labors, he says that " in one month he 
baptized with his own hand 10,000 idolaters, and that not unfre- 
quently in one day he baptized a well-peopled village." Having 
pursued his labors for some months in these districts, he returned 
to Goa, and wrote several very earnest letters to Europe, en- 
treating that more missionaries might be sent to India. He 
preached in several places in the southern parts of the penin- 
sula, when some events occurred which he thought were intima- 
tions from God that it was his duty to visit some countries 
further east. So he proceeded to Malacca, Amboyna, Ternate, 
and Japan, everywhere exhibiting his accustomed zeal. He 
continued his missionary labors in different places till his death 
in 1552, nearly 10 years from Ms arrival in India. He died in 
the island of Sancian, near the coast of China, but his body 

43 



506 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

was brought to Goa, and inclosed in a shrine in the church of 
Bom Jesus.* 

In 1560, only 8 years after the death of Xavier, the Inquisition 
was established in Goa. The institution was on a large scale, 
having cells in the prison part of it sufficient for 200 criminals. 
It continued for more than 2 centuries, and its secret proceed- 
ings and public exhibitions showed a sphit of intolerance, perse- 
cution, and cruelty, to which heathenism can scarcely furnish 
any parallel.f In 1775 it was suppressed by royal edict from 
the king of Portugal. But in a few years it was restored, 
though in a somewhat modified form, and continued till 1812, 
when it was finally suppressed through the influence of the 
British government. The edifice soon fell to ruins, which have 
since been removed to be used for other purposes, so that only 
the place where the Inquisition once stood is now pointed out to 
the inquiring traveller. J 

There is no part of the history of Romish missions in India, 
which exhibits scenes of more interest than some which occurred 
at Delhi. Acber, the greatest of aU the Mogul emperors of 
India, and at that time the greatest monarch in the world, hav- 
ing become dissatisfied with Mohammedanism, the religion of 
his ancestors and of his country, sent a letter to the governor of 

* In 1774, nearly 200 years after Xavler's death, Pope Benedict XIV. 
caused bis name to be enrolled in the calendar of the saints, and gave him the 
title of " Protector of the Indies." From that time he has been regarded as the 
tutelar saint of Goa. When Dr. Buchanan was there in 1806, the Archbishop, 
referring to the long quiet the city had enjoyed, while most cities in India had 
been besieged, and many of them jJundered, " ascribed the preservation of 
Goa to the prayers of St. Xavier." — " There is an old idol of Xavier near Cape 
Comorin, to which many Hindus as well Eoman Catholics go on pilgrimage." — 
Thus Xavier has a place among the saints of the Romish Church and the gods 
of the heathen. 

f The learned Mcsheim says, " It may be affirmed from records of the high- 
est credit and authority that the Inquisition erected by the Jesuits at Goa, and 
the penal laws they employed so freely in the propagation of the gospel, contrib- 
uted much more than their arguments and exhortations, which were but spar- 
ingly used, to engage the Indians to embrace Christianity." 

X Buchanan in his Christian Researches has given an account of the Inquisi- 
tion at Goa, as it was in 1807. The best account I have seen is Dellon's Rela- 
tion de f Inquisition de Goa. Dr. Dellon was confined in the Inquisition for more 
than 2 years. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 507 

Goa, requesting that some qualified Christian teachers would 
come to him, assuring them of a safe journey and an honorable 
reception. He also requested that they would bring with them 
all the books of the law and the gospel, meaning complete copies 
of the Christian Scriptures.* This letter from the emperor natu- 
rally excited great attention at Goa. Three Romish priests 
were selected for this important mission, and they soon em- 
barked for Surat. On arriving at Surat, the governor, who had 
received instructions from the emperor concerning them, received 
them with great respect and furnished them with an escort of 
cavahy to proceed to Delhi. The emperor received them with 
much honor, and offered them every thing they might require. 
" When an image of the crucifixion was exhibited, he showed his 
reverence for it by successively bowing, kneeling, and falling 
prostrate before it, thus conforming to the respective modes of 
the Mohammedan, Christian, and Hindu modes of worship. A 
richly ornamented image of Mary was then exhibited, and gaz- 
ing upon it he declared it to be indeed a worthy representation 
of the Queen of Heaven. A book purporting to be the Bible in 
four different languages was then presented to him, which he re- 
ceived with great reverence, and kissing it placed it upon his 
head." Thus the Jesuits describe their first religious interview 
with him. They were greatly encouraged by these favorable in- 
dications, and requested the emperor to make arrangements for 
them to have a public discussion with the Moolahs upon the 
comparative merits of Christianity and Mohammedanism. The 
request was soon granted, and the Jesuits and the Moolahs had 
their discussion before the emperor and his court. The Jesuits 
in their accounts of this discussion describe their arguments as 
convincing and unanswerable, and probably the Moolahs said 
the same concerning their side of the cause. The emperor as- 
sured the priests privately that he was much pleased with their 
reasons and arguments, which encouraged them to hope that he 
would soon declare his conviction of the truth of Christianity. 
Considerable time passed without any thing more being said on 
the subject, and when the emperor again adverted to it he told 
them that one of the Moolahs had offered to bring their argu- 

*For some account of Acber's religious principles, see p. 109 and 110. 



508 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ments for the truth of Christianity and against Mohammedanism, 
namely, that their religion was at first confirmed by miracles, 
and that these had never ceased to take place in their church, 
while no miracles were wrought at first to confirm the ti'uth of 
the Koran, and none now took place among its followers — aU 
such arguments and objections this Moolah offered to bring at 
once to a practical issue thus : — He would huTiself take the Ko- 
ran in his hands, and caUing upon Mohammed he "would leap 
into a furnace, and either of the priests might take the Bible in 
his hands, and caUing upon Jesus or Mary might leap into the 
furnace — both to do it at the same time before the emperor and 
liis court. — The party whose religion was true, would come 
out of the furnace, himself and book safe and uninjured, and 
the party whose religion was false, would be consumed. — And 
then the emperor and his court would be satisfied whether 
Christianity or Mohammedanism is the true faith, and which 
will secure the salvation of mankind. 

The Jesuits were much perplexed by this proposal, and they 
endeavored to satisfy the emperor that such a trial was not a 
proper way to ascertain the truth of a religion which had al- 
ready abundant evidence in its favor, if men would only ex- 
amine it, that they had exhibited the evidence once and were 
ready to do it again, and they solicited another public discus- 
sion. It was at length arranged that there should be another 
pubKc discussion between the Jesuits and the Moolahs. This 
second discussion, like the former, took place before the empe- 
ror and his court. The Jesuits thought they had the advantage 
in reason and argument, but the result was no more satisfactory 
to the other party than the former discussion. The Moolahs aU 
now declared that any further discussion or controversy was use- 
less, and that it only remained to bring the great question in dis- 
pute at once to the practical issue which they formerly proposed, 
or for the priests to acknowledge the truth of the Koran. The 
emperor also intimated to the Jesuits that the offer of the Moo- 
lah appeared to be reasonable, especially as they believed that 
miracles stUl continued to take place in their church. The 
priests, however, were of a different opinion and declined accept- 
ing the offer. 

These priests made a long sojourn at the court of Acber. He 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 509 

treated them with much respect and gave them liberty freely to 
propagate their religious sentiments, assuring them of his protec- 
tion of themselves and their proselytes. He had frequent con- 
versations with them on religious subjects, but he gave them less 
and less reason to hope he would ever embrace Christianity. At 
length some public affaks required the emperor to proceed to 
Bengal, and the priests took leave of him and returned to Goa, 
having lived in Delhi for 12 years. 

After an interval of 8 years, Acber again wrote to the governor 
of Goa, requesting that some Christian teachers might be sent 
to him. The request was answered and some priests proceeded 
to his court and were received with great respect. They were 
at first much encouraged by his inquiries and the spirit he man- 
ifested. But after a few interviews and conversations with them, 
the interest he manifested in religion diminished, and he appar- 
ently became indifferent on the subject. As they now seldom 
saw him, and their situation at court was becoming unpleasant, 
they left Delhi and returned to Goa. Still the emperor appears 
not to have continued in a state of indifference to religion, for 
after another interval of 4 years he again v^rrote to Goa for 
Christian teachers so earnestly and expressed such sentiments 
on the subject that, notwithstanding their former painful experi- 
ence, another mission was sent to him. The members of this 
mission were at first more encouraged than either of thek prede- 
cessors. But after a v^/^hile on becoming more intimately ac- 
quainted with his habits and sentiments, they were disheartened 
and returned to Goa. This great emperor's religious principles 
have been the subject of much inquiry and doubt. In the early 
part of his hfe he appears to have been a sincere believer in the 
creed of his family and nation ; then for some years to have been 
m doubt between Mohammedanism and Christianity, and in the 
last years of his hfe, excepting now and then seasons of doubt 
and anxiety concerning his own religious state, he was a deist, 
tolerating aU the systems of religion professed in his empire, but 
not believing in the divine origin of any of them. These scep- 
tical sentiments and the equal protection he extended to aU 
classes of people without regard to their religious sentiments so 
long as they were good subjects, gave great offence to Moham- 

43* 



510 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

medans, but made his government popular among all his other 
subjects. 

We cannot but admh-e the moral courage, the zeal and the 
perseverance of these Jesuits at the court of Acber. Had aU the 
means and arguments they used for the conversion of the empe- 
ror and the introduction of Christianity at his court, been of a 
corresponding character, it appears not unhkely they might have 
witnessed very different results. Acber requested these Jesuits 
to prepare for his use a true history of Christ, and they prepared 
and presented to him a work which they declared in the preface 
was such as he had requested. They declared that the work 
" had been compiled from the Holy Gospels and other books of 
the prophets," such are their words. This work has been pre- 
served, and it is as far from being a true History of Christ as 
the traditions and principles of the Roman Cathohc Church are 
from being the doctrines contained in the New Testament. The 
strange stories and foolish legends contained in this work con- 
cerning Peter and Mary indicate that the Jesuits who compiled 
it, were more anxious to recommend Mary as the object of rehg- 
ious homage, and Peter and consequently the Pope, as the suc- 
cessor of Christ, than they were to exhibit the dignity, the grace, 
and the glory of the Redeemer and Saviour of sinners. Need 
we wonder that this great emperor and his learned Moolahs, af- 
ter becoming acquainted with the traditions and doctrines, and 
the rites and usages of these Jesuits and theu* church, and sup- 
posing that this work was a true exhibition of Christianity, and 
that it showed only what was contained in the word of God, — 
need we wonder that such men should lose aU respect for Chris- 
tianity and manifest no desire for further inquiry ? 

The conversion of the natives to Christianity was pursued 
with vigor for more than 200 years from the arrival of the Por- 
tuguese in India. In aU places subject to their power this work 
was favored by legislative enactments, and aU in authority were 
enjoined and expected to use their influence in promoting it. 
Of Albuquerque, who was governor of aU the Portuguese pos- 
sessions in India, it is said that " he greatly favored intermar- 
riages between the European settlers and the natives." The na- 
tive party in aU such cases must previously profess Christianity, 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 511 

and the offspring of all such connections would belong to the 
Christian community. The government appears to have been 
of the opinion that there would be no secmity for the continu- 
ance of their power, if their people did not embrace Christianity, 
and so come under the influence of the hierarchy.* Cottineau 
says, that " Mohammedans and Hindus were allowed to sojourn 
in Goa, but to exercise no public act of their religion." Another 
Roman Catholic historian says, that " no Hindu or Mohamme- 
dan was allowed to practise the rites of his religion pubKcly in 
any Portuguese settlement in India under pain of death." Prob- 
ably the laws differed at different times. The same policy was 
probably pursued in their other possessions. He also says, that 
when " the Jesuits had converted a great part of the inhabitants 
of Salsette,! in order the better as they thought to detach the 
remainder of the inhabitants from the worship of idols, they de- 
stroyed aU the temples and the pagodas." — " Nearly 1,200 tem- 
ples were thus demohshed, and the idols were broken to pieces." 
The same course was pursued in other places where it could 
prudently be done. Great numbers of priests, monks, and 

* " Albuquerque viewed it as an essential object to attach the natives to his 
government, for which purpose he adopted a somewhat singular expedient. 
Having numerous female captives, some belonging to the first families in the 
country, he treated them in the most honorable manner ; but not satisfied with 
this, he proceeded to arrange matrimonial connections between them and his 
Portuguese followers, without leaving them much choice on either side. It was 
made an absolute condition of the brides that they should embrace Christianity, 
an obstacle which was not found insurmountable, the prejudices of caste and relig- 
ion being less deeply rooted there than in other parts of the East. A few such 
marriages being formed, the viceroy showed the parties peculiar favor, and be- 
stowed upon the husbands some of his best appointments. The principal fami- 
lies finding themselves aggrandized by these connections, so far from objecting 
to them, gave their countenance to new matches. An odd story is told of a 
great number of weddings being celebrated at once with a splendid festival, 
when the lights being prematurely extinguished, it became difficult for the parties 
to recognize each other, and they fell into many mistakes. Next morning an 
investigation was proposed, but on mature reflection it was judged best that each 
should remain contented with the wife that had accidentally fallen to his lot, 
though different from the one to whom the church had united him, and the affair 
furnished to the army only an occasion of mirth." ^ Murray's Hit-tor 1/ of British 
India, p. 127. 

t An island or district near Goa, and not the one of this name near Bombay. 



512 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

friars, as Jesuits, Dominicans, Capuchins, etc., engaged in this 
work. Money was freely expended in this cause, and thousands 
spent their lives in self-denying labors and sufferings to promote it. 
In all places subject to the Portuguese they could rely on the 
government for protection for themselves and their converts, and 
the power of government was often exerted to assist them in the 
dominions of the native princes. Of this influence the pro- 
ceedings of Archbishop Menezes, in his aggressive measures 
upon the Syrian Church affords a striking example. Such was 
understood to be his connection with the Portuguese authorities 
and such was the support he was then receiving from them, that 
to resist him in any way appeared certain to incur their displeas- 
ure and all its dreaded consequences. 

But the missionaries did not limit their labors for the conversion 
of the native population to the Portuguese possessions, nor to 
places where they could rely upon the protection and influence 
of government. They went into the territories of the native 
princes, but here they pursued a different course in carrying on 
the work of converting the people. The folloAving extract is from 
the works of one who was himself a Roman Catholic mission- 
ary for more than 30 years in the southern parts of the peninsula, 
and must have been well informed on all such matters. Refer- 
ring to the Jesuits, he says : — 

" By degrees those missionaries introduced themselves into 
the inland country. They saw that in order to fix the attention 
of these people, gain their confidence and get a hearing, it was 
indispensably necessary to respect their prejudices and even to 
conform to their dress, their manner of living, and forms of soci- 
ety ; in short, scrupulously to adopt the costumes and practices 
of the country. With this persuasion they at their first outset 
announced themselves as European brahmins, come from a dis- 
tance of 5,000 leagues from the western part of the Djamboody, 
for the double purpose of imparting and receiving knowledge 
from their brother brahmins in India. Almost all these first mis- 
sionaries were more or less acquainted with astronomy and med- 
icine, the two sciences best calculated to ingratiate them with 
the natives of every description. After announcing themselves 
as brahmins they made it their study to imitate that tribe. They 
put on a Hindu dress of cavy or yellow color, the same as that 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 513 

used by the Indian religious teachers and penitents. They made 
frequent ablutions. Whenever they showed themselves in pub- 
lic, they apphed to their foreheads, paste made of sandal-wood,* 
as used by the brahmins. They scrupulously abstained from 
every kind of animal food as well as from intoxicating liquors, 
entirely faring like brahmins, on vegetables and millv. It was 
by such a life of almost incredible privations and restraints that 
they insinuated themselves among these people. Fully aware 
of the unalterable attachment of the natives to their own usages 
and practices, they made it their principal study not to hurt their 
feelings by attacking all at once the superstitions with which 
most of their customs are infected. They judged it more pru- 
dent at the beginning to overlook many of them, and wait for a 
more favorable time to put the converts right on these subjects. 
Then* color, their talents, their virtues, and above aU their perfect 
disinterestedness rendered them acceptable even to the Hindu 
princes, who astonished at the novelty and singularity of these 
circumstances, bestowed their protection on these extraordinary 
men, and gave them fuU freedom to preach their rehgion and 
made proselytes to it." f 

Of the missionaries thus engaged in propagating the Romish 
system in India, Robert de Nobili, who was a near relative of 
the Pope and a nephew of Cardinal BeUarmine, was the most 
remarkable. He and his companions assumed heathen and 
significant names, and did not scruple to add forgery and even 
perjury to their hypocrisy. In his History of Christianity in 
India, Hough says : — " Robert de Nobili pretended to belong 
to the highest order of brahmins, and to stop the mouths of his 
opposers, and particularly of those who treated his character of 
brahmin as a deception, he produced an old du-ty parchment, on 
which he had forged in the ancient character, a deed showing 
that the brahmins of Rome were of much older date than those 
of India, and that the Jesuits of Rome descended in a direct 
line from the god Brahma. And when the authenticity of this 
smoky parchment was called in question by some Lidian unbe- 
lievers, Robert de Nobili declared upon oath before the assembly 
of brahmins at Madura that he really derived his origin from 
the god Brahma." 

* One of the distinguishing marks of the Hindu religion. 

f Abbe Dubois, on the State of Christianity in India, p. 5 and 6. 



514 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Nobili and his associates used yet other means to establish 
their character as brahmins and the divine origin of the rehgion 
they taught. All the Hindus believe then- Vedas to be the old- 
est and most sacred of all their rehgious books. These works 
are commonly reckoned 4 in number, and copies are very scarce. 
They are held in great veneration, only the brahmins being al- 
lowed to possess them, to read them, or even to hear them read. 
The Jesuits, finding that these books were regarded as the foun- 
tain of all divine knowledge, composed a work which they de- 
clared was one of the Vedas, in which they interwove an ac- 
count of Christianity, its origin and doctrines, with much matter 
of a different character. The work exhibited much knowledge 
of the native language, and in the opinion of a distinguished 
orientalist, " it was wi'itten with consummate skiU." It was 
composed in a style so closely resembUng the true Vedas that 
many learned brahmins did not discover the forgery. The 
authors hoped in this way to show the truth of the Gospels and 
the divine origin of Christianity. This work was not known in 
Europe for many years. In 1761 it became known to Voltaire, 
who believing, or to affecting to believe, that it was a genuine 
Hindu Veda, and of contemporaneous origin with the other 
Vedas, used it to disprove the truth of the Scriptures, as though 
some of the facts, etc., contained in the Gospels concerning Jesus 
Christ were really contained in a heathen work written several 
centuries before Christ appeared in the world. Voltake's argu- 
ments against Cluistianity excited much attention, and this pre- 
tended Veda was soon published at Paris. It was examined by 
M. Sonnerat, who satisfied the public that it was only a Veda in 
pretence, being in reahty a work of recent origin, composed by 
some of the Jesuits in some of their missions in India. It was 
subsequently examined with much care by JMr. ElHs * of 
Madras, a distinguished orientalist, who showed the object and 
character of the work ; — " that the Ezour Veda was purely a 
literary forgery, or rather as the object of the author or authors 
was not literary distinction — that it was a work of rehgious 
imposition without any parallel m the liistory of the world." 

Concerning Nobih and the measures he and his associates 

* Asiatic Eesearclies, 14th vol. Art. 1st. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 515 

used to propagate Christianity in India, Mosheim, in his Eccle- 
siastical History, says : — " Considering on the one hand that 
the Indians beheld with an eye of prejudice and aversion aU 
Europeans, and on the otherthat they held in the highest ven- 
eration the order of brahmins as descended from the gods, and 
that impatient of their rulers they paid an impKcit and unlimited 
obedience to them alone, Nobili assumed the appearance and 
title of a brahmin that had come from a far country, and by be- 
smearing his countenance and imitating the most austere and 
painful methods of living that the sunyasees (devotees) ob- 
served, he at length persuaded that credulous people that he 
was in reality a member of the venerable order of brahmins. 
By this stratagem he gained over to Christianity 12 eminent 
brahmins, whose example and influence engaged a prodigious 
number of the people to hear the instructions and receive the 
doctrine of the famous missionary." 

These accounts show that these Romish missionaries, instead 
of converting the Hindus to Christianity, had themselves become 
Hindus and brahmins in profession and practice, and it would 
not be reasonable to expect that while they continued to sustain 
this character, they could effect any change by their labors or 
influence beyond some modification of Hinduism. And such 
was the result. When their conduct, the doctrines they taught, 
and the character of their proselytes became known, much dis- 
satisfaction was felt among the Portuguese, " who accused these 
Jesuits of the most culpable indulgence in tolerating and wink- 
ing at aU kinds of idolatrous ' superstitions among their prose- 
lytes, and with having themiselves rather become converts to the 
idolatrous worship of the Hindus, by conforming to many of 
their practices and superstitions, than making the Indians con- 
verts to the Christian rehgion." These complaints were made 
to the Pope, who was earnest^ requested to interpose his au- 
thority. The Jesuits also sent deputations to Rome to explain 
their conduct and vindicate the course they had pursued. " This 
disgusting contest," says the Abbe Dubois, " which was carried 
on in several instances with much acrimony, lasted more than 
40 years before it came to an end." The result of this contro- 
versy was that the Jesuits were censm-ed by the Pope, who re- 
quired them to refrain from certain specified rites and practices, 



516 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

and to cany out this reform among all their proselytes. The 
Jesuits complied with the decree of the Pope in respect to their 
own conduct, but they were able to effect only a partial refor- 
mation among their proselytes, of whom a large part preferred 
to continue as they were — a class of the Hindu population. 

The great struggle between the English and the French for 
ascendency in India occurring just at this time, many Europe- 
ans found their Avay into different parts of the country, and the 
Hindus discovered to their great astonishment, " that those mis- 
sionaries whom their color, their talents, and other qualities had 
induced them to regard as extraordinary beings, as men coming 
from another world, were in fact nothing else but disguised Fe- 
ringas (Europeans), and that their country, their religion, and 
original education, were the same with those of the vile and 
contemptible Feringas, who had lately invaded their country. 
This event proved the last blow to the interests of the Romish 
religion in those provinces. No more conversions were made, 
and apostasy became almost general in several districts." 
Another important event also occurred at that time. The order 
of the Jesuits was suppressed and the proselytes became depen- 
dent, to a great extent, upon native priests who had been edu- 
cated in India, who in education and Christian character were 
very inferior to their predecessors, who had but little influence 
over their countrymen that had assumed a Christian profession, 
and still less respect among those who stiU adhered to the Hindu 
system. 

In the latter part of the last century, the Romish Christians in 
the southern parts of the peninsula were severely persecuted by 
the Mohammedan sovereign of Mysore. The following account 
is from the Abbe Dubois' Letters on Christianity in India : — 

" When the late Tippoo Sultan sought to extend his own re- 
ligious creed aU over his dominions, and make by little and 
little all the inhabitants in Mysore converts to Islamism, he 
wished to begin this fanatical undertaking with the native 
Christians living in his country, as the most odious to him on 
the score of their religion. In consequence, in the year 1784, 
he gave secret orders to his ofhcers in the different districts 
to make the most diligent inquiries after the places where 
Christians were to be found, and to cause the whole of them to 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 517 

be seized on the same day, and conducted under strong escorts 
to Seringapatam. This order was punctually carried into exe- 
cution. Very few of them escaped, and I have it from good 
authority, that the aggregate number of persons seized in this 
manner amounted to more than 60,000. 

" Some time after their arrival at Seringapatam, Tippoo or- 
dered the whole to undergo the rite of circumcision and be 
made converts to Mohammedanism. The Christians were put 
together during the several days that the ceremony lasted ; and 
O shame ! O scandal ! — will it be believed in the Christian 
world ? — no one, not a single individual among so many thou- 
sands, had courage enough to confess in these trying circum- 
stances, and become a mart5nr to his religion. The whole apos- 
tatized en masse, and without resistance or protestation, tamely 
underwent the operation of circumcision ; no one among them 
possessing resolution enough to say, ' I am a Christian, and will 
die rather than renounce my religion.' So general a defection, 
so dastardly an apostasy is, I believe, unexampled in the annals 
of Christianity. 

" After the fall of Tippoo Sultan, most of those apostates 
came back to be reconciled to their former religion, sajdng that 
theu' apostasy had been only external, and that they always 
kept in their hearts the true faith in Christ. About 2,000 of 
them fell in my way, and nearly 20,000 returned to the Manga- 
lore district, from whence they had been carried away, and re- 
built there their former places of worship. God preserve them 
aU from being exposed in future to the same trials, for should 
this happen, I have every reason (notwithstanding their solemn 
protestations when again reconciled to Christianity,) to appre- 
hend the same sad results, that is to say, a tame submission and 
a general apostasy." 

The Romish missionaries did not requii-e their proselytes to 
renounce caste when they were baptized, nor to do any thing 
afterwards which was contrary to the rules and usages of caste» 
Indeed, some of these missionaries, as we have seen, pretended 
themselves to be brahmins, and they observed all the rules of 
caste which were necessary to sustain their assumed character* 
They refused to enter the houses of Hindus of low caste, or to 
administer to them the rites of the church. And to suit their 

44 



518 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

system of proselyting to the prejudices of the Hindus, they had 
some missionaries who pretended to be of lower caste, and 
these could consistently associate with the Hindus and prose- 
lytes of low caste. In this way the new community formed 
under the teaching of the missionaries, appeared like a counter- 
part of brahminism, the proselytes retaining what they regarded 
as the most important and essential part of their national relig- 
ion. Father Manduit, one of the missionaries, says : — " The 
catechist of low caste can never be employed to teach any of 
a caste above him. We must have pariar catechists to teach 
pariars, brahmin catechists to teach brahmins, etc." He de- 
scribes his own conduct thus : — " Some time ago a catechist 
from the Madura mission, begged me to go to Poulour, there to 
baptize some pariar catechumens, and to hear the confession of 
some new neophytes of that caste. The fear that brahmins and 
shudras might come to learn the step I had taken, and thence 
look upon me as infamous and unworthy ever after of holding 
any intercourse with them, hindered me from going. The words 
of the holy Apostle Paul, which I had read that morning at the 
mass, determined me to take this resolution, — ' Giving no 
offence to any one, that your ministry be not blamed.' 2 Cor. 
6:3. I therefore made these poor people go to a retired place 
about 3 leagues from here, where I myself joined them dur- 
ing the night, and with the most careful precautions there I bap- 
tized 9 of them." — " The poor pariars had not only separate 
catechists, but separate churches ; and if they presumed to enter 
the church of a higher caste, they were driven out and well 
whipped. Even when they were dying, the Christian sunyasees 
(priests) refused to enter their dwellings ; and the expiring per- 
son in nature's last agony, was dragged from his couch into the 
open air, or to a distant church that the sunyasee (priest), un- 
contaminated by entrance into the house, might, without con- 
tact, administer to him the last rites of the church." 

These distinctions of caste have not been equally preserved in 
aU parts of the country. In Bombay and its vicinity, a regard 
to caste among the Roman Catholics of Hindu origin, is chiefly 
limited to marriage connections. But in the southern parts of 
the peninsula, the distinctions of caste are nearly or quite as 
great and as rigidly adhered to, as they are among the Hindus. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 519 

They observe the rules of caste in respect to eating and drinking 
and social intercourse. The Christians of high caste must have 
preachers and catechists of high caste. They will not attend 
nor admit among them the instructions of any man of low 
caste, however well qualified he may be in learning, ability, and 
piety. The preacher and catechist of the pariars must himself 
be of the same caste, for no one of a higher caste will associate 
with them. In some places the churches are divided into two 
or three parts with separate doors for the different castes to 
enter and come out. In other places they have separate houses 
of worship, and if any man of low caste should enter a church 
of the high castes, the place would be regarded as polluted, and 
he would be at once expeUed and severely punished. 

In the southern part of India, I was several times in company 
with a large number of natives, who I supposed from their 
dress and appearance, were heathen and idolaters, but found on 
inquiry, that most of them, were Roman CathoUcs. I learned 
in answer to my inquiries, that in their marriage connections, 
their eating and drinking, and in all their social and religious in- 
tercourse, they observed the rules of caste as much as the Hin- 
dus did. I asked them how they could all participate in the 
same sacraments, and yet preserve their rules of caste. They 
replied, that " their padre (priest) put his hands upon what was 
to be eaten and consecrated it, and then it became prusad, and 
could be taken and eaten by persons of different castes without 
tlieir losing caste. This word prusad is the name given to food 
cooked in heathen temples, and then offered to the idols and 
consecrated with such rites that people of different castes can 
handle it and eat it and yet preserve then* caste. 

In other matters also they retain much of their former heathen 
customs. The Hindus are very fond of show and noise in their 
religion, and it is a frequent custom in some districts to put the 
idols of their gods on a car or carriage of some kind on festival 
days and then draw it about in procession. This usage has 
been retained by the Roman Catholics only substituting the 
images of their saints for the idols of the gods. In some places 
the same car is used on Hindu festival days for the idols of the 
gods, and on Romish festivals for the images of the saints. The 
Abbe Dubois in describing how Roman CathoHcs imitated the 



520 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

heathen in such tilings says: — " This Hindu pageantry is cliiefly 
seen in the festivals celebrated by the native Christians. Their 
processions in the streets, always performed in the night time, 
have indeed been to me at all times a subject of shame. Accom- 
panied with hundreds of tomtoms (small drums), trumpets, and 
all the discordant noisy music of the country, with number- 
less torches and fireworks — the statue of the saint placed on a 
car which is charged with garlands of flowers and other gaudy 
ornaments according to the taste of the country — the car slowly 
dragged by a multitude shouting all along the march — the con- 
gregation surrounding the car, all in confusion, several among 
them dancing or playing with small sticks or with naked swords — 
some wresthng, some playing the fool, all shouting or conversing 
with each other without any one exhibiting the least sign of 
respect or devotion. Such is the mode in which the Hindu 
Christians in the inland country celebrate their festivals. They 
are celebrated however with a little more decency on the coast. 
They are all exceedingly pleased with such a mode of worship, 
and any thing short of such pageantry, such confusion and such 
disorder would not be lilted by them. I at several times strove 
to make those within my range sensible of the unreasonable- 
ness of so extravagant a worship, and how opposite it was to 
true piety ; but my admonitions proving everywhere a subject 
of scandal rather than of edification among my hearers, who in 
several instances went so far as to suspect the sincerity of my 
faith, and to look upon me as a kind of freethinker and a dan- 
gerous innovator merely on account of my free remarks on the 
subject, I judged it more prudent to drop the matter and to 
overlook abuses it was out of my power to suppress." * 

The Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, a Romish mis- 
sionary magazine, contains many similar accounts in the jour- 
nals and communications of the missionaries employed in Lidia. 

The facts which have been mentioned, and the extracts mostly 
from Roman Catholic writers, which have been given, show the 
kind of means used by the Romish missionaries to propagate 
Christianity in India, their example among the people, the doc- 
trines they taught, and the superstitions they originated or toler- 
ated. It must be obvious that, whatever might be the success 

* Letters on Christianity in India, pp. 69, 70. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 521 

in the number of reported conversions, we could not expect a 
pure form of Christianity, or any enlightened religious commu- 
nity to be the result of such operations. The number of Roman 
Catholics in all India according to a late No. of the Annals of 
the Society for propagating the Faith is nearly 1,000,000. A 
small part of these are the descendants of Europeans settled in 
India, but the great body of them are the descendants of the 
mixed mamages of Europeans and natives, and the descendants 
of Hindus who became proselytes. The greater part of the 
Koman Catholic population in India are in the southern parts 
of the peninsula, which contain the Portuguese possessions 
and the Romish Syrian Christians. The number of these last 
mentioned is stated to be nearly 100,000. The number who 
still adhere to the ancient order, rites, etc., of the Syrian Church 
in India has been stated to be 50,000. 

Goa, though now of Kttle political or commercial importance, 
yet stiU retains much religious influence. There is here an Arch- 
bishop, always from Europe, and under him a large number of 
clergy, most of whom are persons born in the country and edu- 
cated in Goa. There are 7 or 8 bishops or Apostolic Vicars in 
India, namely, 1 in Agra, 1 in Bombay, 1 in Calcutta, 1 in Ma- 
dras, 1 in Pondicherry, 1 in Cochin or Verapoly, and 1 in Ceylon. 
These are always from Europe and have generally been Itahans. 
A few of the priests are from Europe and live in the large cities, 
but the great part of them are natives and educated in the coun- 
try. The education of this latter class is very limited. In Cal- 
cutta, Madras, Bombay, Pondicherry, and Goa, the Roman 
Catholic population includes many Europeans or descendants 
of Europeans and Indo-Britons, and the congregations in the 
chm'ches exhibit every shade of complexion and every style of 
dress. But leaving the cities and large towns, the Roman Cath- 
oKcs, in complexion, dress, and personal appearance generally 
resemble the native population among whom they Hve. This is 
especially true of those living in the southern part of the penin- 
sula. 

To a devout Romanist the history and present state of the 
Roman Catholic religion in India, must be full of painful and 
melancholy interest. The first Portuguese ships that reached 
India, carried missionaries to communicate a knowledge of the 

44* 



522 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Gospel to the inhabitants. For 50 years the Portuguese power 
and possessions in India increased faster than those of any other 
European power. Indeed, the Portuguese possessions in Lidia 
were greater in 20 years from their first sailing round the Cape 
of Good Hope, than those of the English were at the end of 
100 years from their first reaching India. It was a professed 
object and leading policy of the Portuguese to bring aU the na- 
tive population in these possessions to embrace the Roman 
Cathohc faith. In some of these possessions, and probably in 
aU of them as soon as such a course could be safely pursued, 
when " the missionaries had converted the greater part of the 
inhabitants, in order to detach the remainder from the worship 
of idols, they destroyed all the temples and pagodas." In some 
of these places, and probably in all as soon as such a law could 
be prudently enforced, " Mohammedans and Hindus were al- 
lowed to sojourn, but were not permitted to perform any public 
acts of their rehgion." By such means the inhabitants generally 
became Christian in profession. Churches were erected, and 
colleges, monasteries, and nunneries were endowed. With the 
decline of the Portuguese power and the loss of their possessions, 
the population in such places dispersed. The churches, colleges, 
and monasteries were then generally neglected and fell to ruin. 
Many large ruins of such edifices I have seen in different parts 
of India. I have more than once seen the ruins of several large 
churches, where not a single Roman Catholic could be found, 
and their history could be learned only from the Hindu or Mo- 
hammedan inhabitants. 

Great numbers of missionaries, as Jesuits, Franciscans, Do- 
minicans, Capuchins, etc., engaged in the work of converting 
the inhabitants to the Romish faith in the Portuguese posses- 
sions and in the territories subject to the native princes. In 
some places the doctrines they inculcated and the pohcy they 
pursued, produced rather a modified form of heathenism than 
the pm-e and simple Christianity of the primitive churches.* 

* The Abbe Dubois makes the following remai'ks, etc. : " Dining the long 
period I lived In India in the capacity of a missionary, I have made, with the 
assistance of a native missionary, in all between 200 and 300 converts of both 
sexes. Of this number two thirds were pariars or beggars, and the rest were 
composed of shudras, vagrants, and outcastes of several tribes, who being with- 
out resources, turned Christians in order to form new connections chiefly for 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 523 

And "whether such people are really in a more favorable state for 
embracing the truth than the heathen around them, remains to 
be seen. It is the opinion of the Abbe Dubois, who was a mis- 
sionary among the Ronrian Catholics in India for more than 30 
years, that they are not so numerous, or so intelHgent, or so 
respectable now, as they were a century ago. The causes of 
their conversion and early increase, their decline and decrease, 
(if they have reaUy decreased in number,) and their present igno- 
rant and degraded state, are deserving the consideration of aU 
professing Christians and philanthropists. 

The great and besetting sin of the Roman Cathohcs in India 
is intemperance, and for this vice they are often and justly re- 
proached by the Hindus and Mohammedans. It is probable 
that some of their ancestors were intemperate before they pro- 
fessed Christianity, as they belonged to low castes who indulge 
more or less in this practice. And those who were previously 
Mohammedans or high caste Hindus, and so not allowed by the 
principles of their religion to use spirituous liquors of any kind 
before their conversion, would be almost compelled by the 
usages of society to use them afterwards. Whatever the causes 
may be, the Roman Catholics in India are very intemperate, 
and they have suffered much from this vice. Still there is more 
domestic happiness among them than among the Hindu or Mo- 
hammedan population in corresponding circumstances. Polyg- 
amy is never allowed. The women dress more decently and 
have more their appropriate place in their families. More of 
them are educated, and they generally appear with more propri- 
ety and better manners in their intercourse with strangers and 
among their own people. 

the purpose of marriage, or with some other interested views. Among them 
also are to be found some who beUeved themselves to be possessed with the 
devil, and who turned Christians after having been assured that on receiving 
baptism the unclean spirits would leave them and never return ; and I will de- 
clare it with shame and confusion that I do not remember any one who may be 
said to have embraced Christianity from conviction and from quite disinterested 
motives. Among these new comers many apostatized and relapsed Into pagan- 
ism, finding that the Christian religion did not afford them the temporal advan- 
tages they had looked for In embracing it ; and I am very ashamed that the res- 
olution! have taken to teU the whole truth on this subject, forces me to make 
the humiliating avowal that those who continued Christians are the very worst 
among my flock." 



524 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

One great defect, as all Protestants will believe, among the 
means which these missionaries used for the conversion of the 
native population and then for the instruction of their converts 
and churches in Christian doctrine, was the withholding from 
them, or rather not supplying them with, the Scriptures in their 
vernacular languages. No part of the Scriptures, so far as is 
now known, was ever pubhshed by the Roman Catholic mis- 
sionaries in any of the languages of India. They were here 
able to carry out the orthodox doctrine of the Romish Church, 
of not allowing the common people (the laity) to have the word 
of God in their own language, and this not supplying them with 
the Scriptures has contributed in part to keep them in ignorance 
of Christian history, doctrine, and duty. Their ancestors re- 
tained the belief and the use of many of their heathen supersti- 
tions and rites when they professed Christianity, and their pos- 
terity now through several generations have never learned that 
tliese things are contrary to the precepts and the sphit of the re- 
ligion they profess. 

And yet the Roman Catholic population in India, even in their 
present ignorant and degi'aded state, present a very interesting 
view to the Christian and the philanthropist. They are nearly 
1,000,000 in number, and though the greater part of them live 
in the peninsula, yet there are small communities of them scat- 
tered over all the country from Cape Comorin to Cashmere, and 
from the Indus to the Brahmaputra. These communities are 
made up of all the different nations, and some of them using all 
the different languages of India. They have aU been baptized, 
they all bear the Christian name, they have some knowledge of 
Christian doctrines, as the Trinity, the crucifixion of Christ, a 
future resurrection and judgment, and they hope for salvation 
through Christ, though with only vague and indefinite views of 
his v/ork and character. This profession and this knowledge, 
vague and obscure as it is, yet put them on very different 
ground from the Hindus and the Mohammedans. Should a 
Reformation lilve what occurred in Germany in the 16th cen- 
tury, take place among the Roman Cathohcs in India, should 
many of the priests and of the people be truly converted to 
God, the Scriptures in then* own languages be freely supphed 
to them, and they aU be stirred up to read, great indeed would 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 525 

be the effect not only through the 1,000,000 Roman Catholics, 
but through the 150,000,000 of Hindus and Mohammedans. 
And how soon in this way might hundreds of native missiona- 
ries be raised up to preach each in his own language the won- 
derful works and the yet more wonderful love of God. In this 
view of the Roman Catholic population of India I believe they 
have not received the attention from Protestants which their 
number, their circumstances, their character, and their relation 
to the native population of the country generally require. 



CHAPTER HI. 



EAELY PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 



The earliest Protestant mission in India was at Tranquebar 
on the Coromandel Coast. Baldaeus and some others of the 
Dutch missionaries in Ceylon now and then visited the Dutch 
possessions of Tuticorin and Nagapatam on this coast ; but their 
ministrations appear to have been limited to their countrymen 
and the native Christians in these places. Tranquebar became 
a Danish possession in 1621, but it was not till 80 years after 
this time that any measures were taken to convert the natives to 
the Christian reUgion. Dr. Lutkins, one of the chaplains of the 
king of Denmark, set before his Majesty the duty of converting 
the heathen in his eastern possessions to the Christian faith, and 
the king at once instructed him to take measures for doing it. 
After some inquiry, Ziegenbalg and Plutscho, two students at 
HaUe, in Germany, were engaged and embarked for India in 
1705. The manner in which they at first considered and en- 
gaged in this cause, and the spirit they everywhere manifested 
on the subject, showed their eminent qualifications for such an 
enterprise. They found much difficulty for a while in learning 
the Tamul language, as the natives there showed a jealousy of 
any European acquiring more than a colloquial use of it. Their 
brahmin teacher was much persecuted, " his enemies pursuing 
him from place to place, and persecuting him with great violence. 
At last they succeeded in getting him to Tanjore, where they 
accused him to the Raja of having betrayed their rehgion and 



526 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

revealed its most sacred mysteries to the missionaries. The 
Raja immediately loaded him with irons and threw him into 
prison where he lay for some months." The spiritual state of 
their own countrymen in India excited their sympathy, and they 
had one service a week with them, which some esteemed a great 
privilege. Seeing that some of the Europeans owned slaves, 
the missionaries obtained the consent of the masters that " these 
poor outcasts might meet for 2 hours daily for instruction." 
Thus it could again be said, " To the poor the gospel is 
preached." Nor did they hear in vain, for in less than a year 
firom their arrival in India, " the missionaries had the satisfac- 
tion of baptizing five adult heathen slaves belonging to Danish 
masters. The services were publicly performed in the Danish 
church at Tranquebar after the candidates had been examined 
in all the Articles of the Christian Faith. They gave their an- 
swers with such readiness of mind as to put to shame many old 
persons who were present." In two years after their arrival they 
erected a church, and, at its dedication, " they preached both in 
Tamul and Portuguese to a crowded congregation of Christians, 
Hindus, and Mohammedans." The next month they baptized 
9 adult Hindus, and again in less than a year several more 
were baptized. The native Christians were soon enough to form 
a respectable community. The missionaries were greatly en- 
couraged with these indications of the blessing of God upon 
their labors. But the work of conversion did not proceed with- 
out exciting much persecution. " Some of the converts, like 
the primitive Christians, suffered the loss of all things, being 
turned out of their estates and banished from the society of 
kindred and friends. They were regarded as outcasts and the 
dregs of mankind. They were beaten with violence and in a 
few instances were put to death." 

In 1708, Ziegenbalg visited Nagapatam, and "the Dutch 
magistrate sent through the country in aU directions, inviting 
the most learned brahmins, sunyasees, etc., to a friendly confer- 
ence with the missionary on rehgious subjects. A great assem- 
bly convened ; the conference or discussion lasted for 5 days, and 
much information concerning the origin, history, doctrines, etc., 
of Christianity was diffused among the native population." In 
1711 the translation of the New Testament into Tamul was 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 527 

completed. To print the Scriptures and other works they pro- 
cured a press and types from Germany, but these types were 
found to be unsuitable and a font was cast at Tranquebar. The 
press proved a great help, and the New Testament and 32 Ta- 
mul works were printed in 2 or 3 years. Ziegenbalg's health 
having failed, in 1815 he embarked for Europe. His account 
of their missionary labors and the reKgion, etc., of the Hindus 
excited great attention in England and through Germany. 
Kings, princes, and prelates manifested an interest in the cause, 
and gave liberally to support it. The king of Denmark may be 
said to have originated the mission, and his well-known Hberal- 
ity and favor were in many ways of much advantage to them. 
In England Ziegenbalg had an interview with the king, with 
the prince of Wales, and several of the bishops and nobil- 
ity.* The Society for Propagating the Gospel, and the Society 
for Promoting Christian Knowledge assisted the mission with 
money and materials for printing the Scriptures and other works. 
These things occurred nearly 150 years ago, and show that the 
Spirit of Missions is not of so recent origin as m.any have sup- 
posed.! 

Ziegenbalg returned to India and resumed his labors as soon 
as his health would admit. The operations of the mission were 
carried on prudently and vigorously during his absence. M. 
Plutscho had some time previously returned to Europe in feeble 
health, but his place was well supplied by M. Grundler, who 
was every way a worthy associate of Ziegenbalg. But Ziegen- 
balg did not long survive his return. He died after an illness of 
a few weeks in Feb. 1719, at the early age of 36 years, of which 

* George I. wrote to the missionaries in 1717 and again in 1727, acknowledg- 
ing letters from them, and assuring them of the great interest he felt in their 
■work. The Archbishop of Canterbury also wrote them several letters. — See 
Christian Researches, p. 120-125. 

f The king appears to have taken a continued interest in this mission. Many 
years after Ziegenbalg was in England, 3 German missionaries remained a few 
days in London waiting for an opportunity to embark for India. " While in 
London they were introduced to the king, who discoursed with them for some 
time about the present state of the mission, the stipend of the missionaries, the 
languages they had learned, and other interesting matters relating to the work 
they had undertaken. AVhcn they took leave his Majesty ordered 180 crowns 
to be cfiven to them.'^ 



528 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEKN. 

he had spent 13 in India. The state of his mind in his sickness 
and death corresponded to his life. In view of the state of the 
mission and of the heathen he had a desire to Kve, but for him.- 
seLf only his desire was " rather to depart that he might be with 
Christ." In the full assurance of faith, says his biographer, he 
could adopt the language of the apostle, " I have fought a good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith ; hence- 
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the 
Lord the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." At the 
time of Ziegenbalg's death, aU the New Testament and the Old 
Testament to Ruth had been translated and printed in Tamul, 
the language there generally used by the natives. A Dictionary 
and Grammar had been prepared in the same language, and 32 
works on Christian doctrine and duties for distribution and for use 
in the schools had been printed. Two churches had been erected. 
A seminary had been commenced for the education of catechists, 
and a native Christian community of 350 souls * had been con- 
verted from heathenism. The history of the propagation of 
Christianity shows few such men as Ziegenbalg ; few have la- 
bored with such singleness of purpose, and seen their labors so 
much blessed ; few were ever more beloved in life or lamented 
in death. And when the great Head of the church on earth was 
pleased to remove him to higher service in the temple above, the 
converts he had baptized, the seminary and schools he had es- 
tabhshe-d, the Scriptures he had translated, the dictionary, gram- 
mar, and numerous other works he had made, long continued to 
be witnesses of his ability, industry, zeal, and devotedness. By 
aU these, though dead, he long continued, yea even to the pres- 
ent time has continued, to speak. 

This mission after the death of Ziegenbalg was supphed with 
able laborers from Germany, and though subject to persecution 
from Romanists, Mohammedans, and Hindus, yet it continued 
to increase in the number of its converts and the general efficiency 
of its operations. Some of the catechists having become quali- 
fied for the ministry, were ordained and proved to be useful assist- 
ants. From some accounts of the schools it appears that a part 
of the scholars, at one time nearly half, were girls. Probably 

* The number of tliese who were communicants is not given. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 529 

these belonged to the native Christian community. In 1750, 
three missionaries arrived, one of whom was Christian Frederick 
Schwartz, afterwards so celebrated for his long and successful 
' labors in the missionary cause. In 1756, at the celebration of 
the jubilee or 50th anniversary of the mission, it is stated that 
more than 11,000 persons had been baptized, of whom many 
had adorned their profession, and died in the comfort of a good 
hope through grace. The state of piety in the Christian com- 
munity at that time is described as very gratifying. The opera- 
tions of the mission which had several stations, sujffered much 
from the wars between the English and the French, and between 
these powers and the native princes. The Europeans engaged 
in these wars, by their drinking, fighting, and generally immoral 
conduct, (for so it appeared to the native population,) excited 
strong prejudice against Christianity in the minds of many 
Hindus and Mohammedans. An uncommon proportion of the 
German raiissionaries in India Kved to be aged men, aged for 
Europeans in that climate, and this circumstance contributed 
much to promote the missionary cause. Schwartz was in the 
48th year of his missionary labor when he died. Several of the 
native preachers and catechists lived to be aged. Some labored 
in the cause more than 50 years.* 

Tranquebar was the original seat of the Protestant missions 
in India, and for 20 years or more the missionaries made that 
city their home. But the conversion of so many natives in 
Tranquebar, the visits of the missionaries to other cities, their 
tours through the provinces, the circulation of the Scriptures 
and tracts, and the labors of their native helpers, excited atten- 
tion and inquiry in other places, and opened the way for enlarg- 
ing their operations. In 1716, the missionaries of Tranquebar, 
encouraged by the English residents in Madras, opened a 
Tamul school there for native children, which was visited and 
examined from time to time, " when they never failed to preach 
to the heathen of the place. On these occasions they were al- 
ways welcomed by the English." M. Schultze, one of them , 

* In 1833,1 became acquainted witli a German missionary who was for some 
years a companion and fellow-laborer with Schwartz. When I last saw him he 
had been a missionary in India for 5 7 years, and he lived some years after that 
time. 

45 



530 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

mentions being at Madras in 1726, when " he was greatly en- 
couraged by the governor and other gentlemen in authority, and 
preached to all classes, English, Germans, Portuguese, and 
Hindus." Cncumstances were so favorable at Madras that' 
Schultze, with the concurrence of his associate at Tranque- 
bar, soon removed to Madras, which then became a station 
of the Danish mission. The Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge took him and the station under their patronage, and 
the governor, the members of council, and others liberally as- 
sisted in purchasing mission premises. In a few years 2 or 3 
more missionaries joined him ; their schools were prosperous ; 
their catechists were diligent and zealous ; and in 1736, only 9 
years from the commencement of the mission, they had baptized 
415 persons. 

This Mission in Madras has continued under the charge of a 
succession of missionaries to the present time, and is now 
known as the Vepery Mission. In 1743 the health of Schultze 
became so much impaired that he was compelled to embark for 
Europe. The native Christian community then connected with 
the Mission, consisted of 619 souls, of whom 123 were com- 
municants. This mission in its early history was much assisted 
by the English residents in Madras, and at one time the govern- 
ment gave them 500 pagodas or nearly $1,000 " by way of in- 
demnity for what they had suffered in the war, and as a further 
benevolence towards relieving their present distresses, and the 
thorough reestabHshment of their mission." In 1761, a printing 
press was established in connection with the mission, which 
was in various ways of great advantage. A very considerable 
proportion of their converts had been previously Romanists. 
Among these was a priest, of the order of Dominican, a native 
of Portugal, whose name was De Costa. He held fast his 
Christian confession till his death, which occurred some years 
afterwards at Calcutta. In 1772, the journals of the missiona- 
ries contain the first mention that I have seen of the cliolera in 
any history of India. In that year "it appeared first at 
Tripetty, a place among the hills north-west of Madras, whither 
innumerable multitudes went annually on pilgrimage from all 
parts of the Carnatic, especially j&om Madras. The great fes- 
tival was held in the month of September, and this year one 



CHRISTIAlSriTY IN INDIA. 531 

half of the vast concourse was swept away by this awful 
scourge." 

An account of this mission published some years ago, stated 
that the whole number baptized since its origin was nearly 
5,000, that many hundi-ed children had received a good Chris- 
tian education in its schools, and that its printing-press had 
been very useful in furnishing the Scriptures and other relig- 
ious works in the native languages. The Christian community 
formed originally by this mission is now divided into 2 or 3 re- 
ligious societies, each under the charge of different missionaries. 
Some are in connection with the Church of England, and some 
are in connection with the Lutheran Church. 

Among the German and Danish missionaries to whom India 
is so much indebted, were many men of great ability, zeal, and 
piety. Ziegenbalg, who commenced the Tranquebar mission, 
deserves to be had in everlasting remembrance. Grundler was 
every way a worthy feUow-laborer and successor. The life and 
labors of Schwartz are well known. The English government 
in India employed him in important political transactions with 
the native princes. He was sent on an embassy to Hyder Ali, 
then in the height of his power. This powerful, haughty, and 
tyrannical prince, though himself a Mohammedan, had yet so 
great respect for Schwartz that he gave orders to all his offi- 
cers to let the " venerable padre Schv/artz go wherever he 
pleased in his army, his encampments, and the country around, 
when the war was raging with the Enghsh, and any European 
not in the prince's service found there, would have been in- 
stantly killed." In the political affairs of Tanjore, Schwartz acted 
an important part, rendering great services to the Raja, his 
family, and his subjects ; and also to the English, and obtaining 
the approbation of aU parties. The Raja showed his respect for 
him in various ways. " The funeral of Schwartz was delayed 
a Kttle beyond the appointed time in consequence of Surfojee 
Raja wishing to look on him once more before the coffin was 
closed. Deeply was the prince affected at the sight of his guar- 
dian's corpse. He bedewed it with tears, covered it with a cloth 
of gold, and accompanied it to the grave." The Raja also 
erected a monument with a suitable inscription upon it, in the 
church at Tanjore, where Schwartz had so long and so success- 



532 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

fully preached the gospel. The East India Company also 
showed thek estunation of Schwartz's character and services by 
erecting a marble monument for him, in St. Mary's church, in 
Madras. 

In the latter part of the last century the sources of support 
from Denmark and Germany gradually failed, and these mis- 
sions became mostly dependent upon England. Of the original 
Danish and German missions there are now 7 stations connected 
with the Leipsic Missionary Society, which has 6 missionaries 
who have under their care about 3,000 native Christians. The 
Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and the 
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (both Societies of 
the Church of England) assisted the Danish and German mis- 
sions at different times. And when the original sources of sup- 
port for these missions failed, the districts where they were, hav- 
ing in the mean time become subject to the English, it was nat- 
ural these Societies should assume charge of these missions so 
far as was necessary for their support. So most of the native 
Christians formerly connected with the Danish and German 
missions, are now connected with the English Society for Prop- 
agating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. 

Calcutta was not a place of any political or commercial im- 
portance under any native government. So there were no tem- 
ples or mosques of any pecuhar sanctity or antiquity in the 
city, or in its vicinity. Such a place and the population natu- 
rally gathered there, would in some respects be favorable for 
introducing Christianity. In 1732, some Dutch, Germans, and 
other foreigners, settled in Calcutta, applied to the missionaries 
in Tranquebar, to send them one or two missionaries, not only 
for the benefit of the natives, but also of themselves and their 
famihes, as they were destitute of the preaching and ordinances 
of the Gospel. The missionaries in Tranquebar, unable to spare 
any of their own number, sent the application to Germany, but 
no suitable persons inclined to this work could then be found. 
In 1753, the French under Count de Lally, having taken pos- 
session of Cuddalore, the Rev. John Kiernander, who had been 
a missionary in that place for some years, was compelled to 
leave, and seeing no prospect of being able to resume his labors, 
he proceeded to Calcutta. He found Lord Clive, then governor, 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 533 

and the members of the council cordially disposed to take him 
under their protection and to patronize his mission. He was 
also kindly received by the East India Company's chaplains, 
who obtained large donations and subscriptions for carrying on 
his missionary operations. He found in Calcutta several native 
Protestants from the southern provinces of India, and he had 
soon very considerable congregations in the Fort Church, which 
the governor and chaplains allowed him to use when it was not 
required for the religious services of the Europeans. Kiernander 
was soon joined by a Roman Catholic priest, v/ho, renouncing 
the errors of his church, became a useful assistant in the mis- 
sionary work. The congregation increased, and " during the 
first year he had 15 baptisms, among whom was one learned 
brahmin." The mission was encouraged and assisted by the 
European residents far beyond what was expected. Among 
those who supported it liberally, was Governor Vansittart, who 
had succeeded Lord Chve in this office.* 

Mr. Kiernander's labors appear to have embraced different 
classes of people, but all equally in need of the Gospel. In 
1766, only 8 years from his arrival in Calcutta, his church con- 
sisted of 189 communicants, of whom more than half were 
originally E-omanists. Having acquired considerable property 
by his marriage in Calcutta, he began to erect a church, expect- 
ing it would cost about ^S 2,500. But some unexpected diffi- 
culties occurred, and it was found when completed, that the 
cost had exceeded £7,000. This large and unexpected expense 
greatly embarrassed him, and deranged aU his plans. At the 
dedication of this mission-church, the governor, the members of 
council, and many other Europeans high in authority were pres- 
ent, thus showing their respect for Mr. Kiernander, and the 
interest they felt in the cause. In 1767, of 36 converts in that 
year, 20 were previously Romanists, among whom was one 
priest, who proved to be a valuable assistant to Mr. K. in his 

* Mr. Vansittart was Governor of Bengal for 5 years, when he returned to 
England. On returning to India, the ship in which he embarked, and all on 
board were lost ; no tidings of them were ever heard after they sailed. Mr. V. 
was the father of the late Lord Bexley, who was for many years President of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society. 

45* 



534 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

work. In the course of a few years, many more Romanists 
joined him, among whom were two more priests. One of these 
also became a useful fellow-laborer with Mr. K. This mission 
continued for many years in a prosperous state, and in 1778, the 
native Christian community embraced many famihes, and the 
communicants amounted to 200. 

From this time the operations of the mission were less 
efficient, and its state began to decline. Unfavorable feelings 
towards all means for the introduction and propagation of 
Christianity in India, as dangerous to the stabihty and perma- 
nency of the English power in the country, now became more 
common, and for a while had much influence in Bengal. Mr. 
K. became too infirm from age to engage in active labors, or to 
superintend efficiently the operations of his mission. He also 
became pecuniarily involved, and so was unable to support, as 
he formerly did, the expenses of the mission. 

In this view of the- state of the mission, the Society for Pro- 
moting Christian Knowledge, which had at different times made 
some donations for the expenses of the mission, though nothing, 
so far as I can learn, for Mr. K.'s personal support, sent out the 
E-ev. A. J. Clark, to take charge of it in 1787. Mr. C. was 
the first Enghsh missionary sent to India, and he soon left the 
missionary work and became one of the chaplains. From this 
time for several years there was no English missionary in Cal- 
cutta, or in any part of Bengal. Several chaplains superin- 
tended the mission in Calcutta, administering the ordinances, 
and superintending and directing the catechists and teachers. 
Among these chaplains were D. Brown, C. Buchanan, H. Mar- 
tyn, T. Thomason, D. Corrie, and others, to whom the cause of 
rehgion among the European, as well as the native population 
in India is greatly indebted. Through the labors of these men, 
the cause of Christianity was sustained among the native popu- 
lation in Calcutta, and communities of native Christians were 
formed in Agra, Meerut, Cawnpore, Chunar, and other places, 
so that when the first missionaries of the Church Missionary 
Society arrived in India, they found that in these places much 
preparatory work had been done, and good foundations had 
been akeady laid for them to build upon. The labors of these 
good men are the more to be admired, as they were not required 



CHRISTIAlSriTY IN INDIA. 535 

by any regulations of the government, and formed no part of 
their prescribed duty. And not only were these labors volun- 
tary, and performed without any remuneration, but they re- 
quired expenses for pundits and books to learn the native lan- 
guages, and money for the support of catechists, school-teachers, 
and other operations. In the whole history of the propagation 
of Christianity in modern times, I know not where we can find 
more noble examples of Christian effort, Hberality, and benevo- 
lence, than the names which have been mentioned, and some 
others like them among the East India Company's chaplains in 
India. 

The first Protestant mission in Bombay was commenced by 
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
In 1812, five missionaries, namely, Messrs. HaU, Judson, NeweU, 
Nott, and Rice proceeded from the United States to Calcutta, 
with the intention to commence a mission somewhere in the 
East Indies. The governor-general of India would not allow 
them to remain in any part of the territory subject to the East 
India Company, and ordered them to leave the country immedi- 
ately. In consequence of these peremptory orders they aU left 
Calcutta, and Messrs. HaU and Nott proceeded to the western 
coast of India. On arriving in Bombay they found that the 
same peremptory orders from the governor-general had preceded 
them. Sir Evan Nepean, the governor of Bombay, was person- 
ally weU disposed to them and to the missionary cause, but said 
that he did not feel he had any discretionary power to allow 
them to remain. But various causes delayed their departure, 
and they at length obtained permission to continue and pursue 
their missionary work. In 1813, some alterations favoring the 
introduction of Christianity into India were made in the 
East India Company's charter, and some other missionary so- 
cieties soon commenced missions in the presidency of Bombay. 

It has appeared proper to give this somewhat extended notice 
of the early missions in India, in the belief that they are not so 
well known as is desirable, and to show that modern missionary 
efforts commenced longer ago, and were prosecuted with more 
vigor than is generally supposed. The history and operations 
of the missionary societies, European and American, which are 
now engaged in propagating Christianity in India, are so well 



536 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

known that any detailed account of them here appears to be 
unnecessary. A brief statement of them, and a tabular view, 
showing the times when they were commenced, their stations, 
the number of their missionaries, schools, converts, etc., will be 
given. Also the results of the missionary enterprise, and some 
remarks and suggestions concerning ways and means of pro- 
moting the cause. 

PRESENT STATE OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN INDIA. 

The first Protestant missions in the southern countries of 
Asia, were commenced by the Dutch in Amboyna and Ceylon, 
and the next in the order of time, were the Danish and German 
mission, on the Coromandel Coast. These last-mentioned 
missions were assisted at different times by the Society for 
Propagating the Gospel and the Society for Promoting Chris- 
tian Knowledge, in England. The first English missiona- 
ries who proceeded to India, were Dr. Carey and his asso- 
ciates in 1793. The exclusive pohcy of the East Lidia Com- 
pany for some time prevented the English missionary societies 
from engaging vigorously in propagating Christianity in India. 
The restrictions of this Company were removed by changes in 
the charter, when renewed by Parliament in 1813. From that 
time there has been a gradual increase in the missionary force 
in India. Missions have been commenced by societies of differ- 
ent denominations in the United Kingdom, and on the Conti- 
nent of Europe, and in the United States of America. The 
stations of these missions were so much scattered over the 
country, and their operations, though communicated to their re- 
spective societies in Europe and the United States, and pub- 
lished in their reports, were yet often so little known to the 
Christian public in India that a collection of their statistics 
and more knowledge of their particular state became very de- 
sirable. This work was undertaken by the Rev. J. Mullens, in 
connection with the Calcutta Missionary Conference, and was ac- 
complished to the satisfaction of all connected with the mission- 
ary cause. The statistics included Ceylon, as its missions are 
closely connected with those of India. The results were of a 
very encouraging character, and showed more progress and 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 



537 



success than was generally expected. The statistics collected 
were published in tables which exhibited the names of the soci- 
eties, the stations, and. the missionaries, and the number of 
churches, communicants, catechists, schools, etc., connected with 
each mission. These tables show that in 1852, Lidia (including 
Ceylon,) contained: — 



The Agents of . 
These Societies had . 

Of whom . 

They had . 



There were . 

And .... 

These Churches contained 
At these stations were 
The Missionaries had . 
These Schools contained . 

They had 
And these Schools contained 
They also superintended 

In which were 
They had also 

Which contained . 

And they had . 

Which contained . 

They also maintained 



22 Missionary Societies. 
443 Missionaries ; 

48 were Ordained Natives. 

698 Native licensed Preachers and 

Catechists. 

313 Mssionary Stations. 

331 Native Churches. 

18,410 Communicants. 

112,191 Native Christians. 

1,347 Vernacular Day Schools. 

47,504 Boys. 

93 Boarding Schools, 

2,414 Christian Boys. 

126 Superior English Day Schools. 

14,562 Young Men and Boys. 

347 Day School for Girls. 

11,549 Scholars. 

102 Boarding Schools for Girls ; 

2,779 Christian Girls. 

71 Regular Meetings in English 
for Europeans. 



The tables are too numerous and extended to be all inserted 
here. Of the two following tables, the jfirst exhibits the force of 
the principal missionary societies, and the second exhibits the 
summary of the missions in each Presidency and Ceylon. In 
the full tables of statistics, the missions of Ceylon are printed 
separately. In the first of these tables they are Included. In 
the second table they appear by themselves. 



538 



INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 



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CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 



539 





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ENGLISH 


Chap 


ELS. 



540 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

Dr. W. Brown in his History of Missions, published in 1854, 
has given some later statistics and refers to numerous Reports, 
Journals, etc., for authority. He makes the whole number of 
communicants 21,299 which is a very considerable increase. 
Probably the catechists, schools, etc., had increased in equal pro- 
portion. 

The 22 Missionary Societies engaged in propagating Chris- 
tianity in India compose a part of nearly every Protestant 
chm-ch and denomination in Europe and America. They show 
an amount of talent, learning, wealth, and influence vastly ex- 
ceeding what is generally supposed to be engaged in this cause. 
They show what a strong hold the cause of foreign missions has 
acquked upon the feehngs of Christians. They show not only 
a conviction of the truth of Christianity, but of the duty of com- 
municating a knowledge of it to the inhabitants of those coun- 
tries who have hitherto remained ignorant of it. In the extent 
of their organization as well as in the learning, talent, wealth, 
influence, and piety they comprehend, they show that a late dis- 
tinguished author had well considered this cause when he de- 
clared " the Spirit of Missions to be the Glory of the Age." * 

Of the 443 missionaries, 48 (the number is greater now) were 
natives, born and most of them educated in the country. These 
have been ordained and are now laboring for the conversion of 
their countrymen. It must be obvious to all who have any ac- 
quaintance with India, that its population of 150,000,000 can 
never be evangehzed by the direct labors of missionaries sent 
from Europe and America. The principal work of these mis- 
sionaries must be to raise up and superintend a native agency. 
To prepare a suitably quahfied agency to preach the gospel must 
require much time as well as great labor. Such agents must be 
converted from heathenism to Christianity, as weU as be edu- 
cated for the ministry. They must give evidence of having 
been called by God and renewed by his Spuit before they en- 
gage in this work. Now no human means can impart to them 
this essential part of their qualifications ; God alone can give it. 
For this quahfication in native agency, missionaries must look 
to Him who has commanded his Gospel to be preached to all 
the human family. 

• 

* John Foster. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 541 

Considering the time and labor necessary for preparing a 
native agency and the peculiar quaMcations required for it, aU 
must acknowledge that missionaries have made a good begin- 
ning. But they have done far more than to prepare these 48 
ordained native missionaries. The course of preparation gen- 
erally includes two previous states. When missionaries find 
young men who give evidence of piety and apparently possess 
natural talents for usefulness in the missionary work, they are 
first prepared for the class of assistants called catechists. This 
class contained 698 or more than • 14 times the number of the 
ordained native missionaries. In this state they generally con- 
tinue for some time, and some of them on account of their age 
or deficiency in strength of Christian character, or natural and 
acquired ability, continue in this class through life. But others, 
having approved themselves to the satisfaction of their teachers 
and employers for sufficient time, are licensed to preach. And 
such persons after sufficient trial and progress in Christian char- 
acter and education are generally ordained. In the views of the 
missionary agency and operations which have been given, the 
licensed preachers are aU included in the number of catechists. 
How large a part of these are licensed preachers, we have not 
the means of ascertaining.* While some of these are every 
year admitted into the class of ordained missionaries, their 
places are supplied, and more than suppfied, by others admitted 
into the class of catechists. 

In estimating the influence of the missionary stations in India 
it is necessary to consider their situation in respect to each other, 
and also to the whole country. These 331 stations are not like 
townships or parishes in America, where all might be included 
in a few districts or counties, but they are generally in large citr 
ies, where they are surrounded with a dense population, or in 
towns and villages 20, 30, and often 100 miles distant from each 
other. Thus situated, each becomes a centre of influence on 
the heathen population around it, and shedding their light on 

* Since wi-iling the above I have seen a statement that " the number of native 
preachers now in India is 551." If this number inckided the ordained native 
missionaries (as it probably did) it would still include a large proportion of those 
commonly called catechists in the class or division of licensed preachers. 

46 



542 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the surrounding darkness, as they increase m number and influ- 
ence they will gradually enlighten all the country. 

These 331 churches are all in connection with the different 
Protestant missions. They are missionary churches, and do not 
include the churches composed of Europeans and under the 
pastoral care of the chaplains. Some of these mission churches 
are large, containing 200 or 300 members, but others are small, 
having been recently formed. If the whole number of com- 
municants in the latest accounts (21,299) were divided by the 
number of churches, it would give an average of 64 members for 
each chm-ch. This number may appear small to people con- 
nected with the large churches in our cities. But there are more 
than this number of Congregational churches in New England, 
not one of which has so many members, though in some of these 
churches the Gospel has been preached and its ordinances ad- 
ministered for more than 100 years past, while in some of our 
States not half the Presbyterian churches have 64 members. 

In most places where there is a church, there is a community 
of native Christians, who are not members of the church. Some 
of these are the children of pious parents, who have grown up 
and not yet given sufficient evidence of personal piety to be ad- 
mitted members of the church. In some instances a man has 
become a member and his wife has not, and then a woman has 
become a member and her husband has not. Some are candi- 
dates for admission, and aU have withdrawn from heathenism 
and belong to the native Christian community. This class of 
people generally attend upon the means of grace. They are 
nominally Christians, that is, they are Christians in the lower 
but not in the higher sense. StiU compared with the heathen 
they are in an encouraging and hopeful state, and the number 
of them is yearly increasing. The number of this class at the 
begmning of 1852 was 112,191, and it is now probably much 
larger. In comparing the results of missionary operations with 
the number of agents employed, it should be remembered that 
a large part of this agency has been engaged in the cause but a 
few years. Some of them are yet occupied in learning the na- 
tive languages, and others have just commenced their active la- 
bors. Some of the missions and many of the stations have 
been but recently commenced. 



CHRISTIANITY IN" INDIA. 543 

Another important fact is that a large part of these results 
have been realized within a few years past. And this is what 
might be expected in view of the state and character of the peo- 
ple and the circumstances of the missionaries. Christianity, as 
offered to the people of India, does not appear to be accompa- 
nied with those advantages of civilization which have often 
gained for it a favorable hearing, and to some extent a nominal 
and general reception among the aborigines of America, and the 
inhabitants of Africa and the islands of the Pacific. They have 
believed that the difference they saw betw^een their own state 
and circumstances, and those of Christian nations, was to be as- 
cribed to their different religions, and that the way to become 
like Christian nations was to renounce their own religion and be- 
come Christians — that in this way they might become civilized, 
learned, rich, and powerful. Every person who is well read in 
missionary history, knows that views of this nature have often 
had much influence at first in the spread of Christianity in the 
countries and places above referred to. And it is proper and 
right for missionaries to show to the people of such countries 
the advantages of Christian civilization. But the people of 
India are in such a state of civilization now that missionaries 
can show them no such advantages in connection with em- 
bracing Christianity. It is true that Christianity, if truly 
embraced, would gradually by its influence upon their moral 
and intellectual character, produce great and important changes 
in then* social state and worldly circumstances. But these ad- 
vantages would be realized slowly, and in a manner which they 
cannot now understand. 

To some persons the number of native Christians in India 
may appear to be small. But let such remember that it is 
larger than the entire population of all the English territories 
in India was at the close of the first century of the East India 
Company,* which has always embodied the English power in 
India. But now the population in the territories subject to the 
English in India amount to 100,000,000, while their power ex- 
tends indirectly over 50,000,000 more. Now while Christianity is 
in no way responsible for the means or the progress of the Brit- 

* The East India Company commenced in A. d. 1600. So the close of its 
first century was the year 1 700. 



544 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ish power in India, yet all Christians who take any part or feel 
any interest in the propagation of Christianity in that country, 
believe that these great political changes are preliminary and 
preparatory to the spread of the gospel. May we not therefore 
expect, since God has thus prepared the way in his providence, 
to see as much increase in the same time in the subjects of the 
kingdom of Ms grace ? as much progress in the same time in 
the conversion of the people of India to Christianity ? 

The opinion is sometimes expressed that the missionary 
enterprise in India has proved to be a failure. Now in respect 
to all such assertions and opinions, two things may be ob- 
served : — First, they are made in a spirit of unfriendliness to 
this work, and of hostility to the cause. These opinions come 
from persons who have never given to the foreign missionary 
cause their sympathy, or their money, or their prayers. They 
have never cordially wished to see it in a prosperous state, 
or to hear of its success. They are wishing to find something 
to say against it. Secondly, when the authors of such asser- 
tions and opinions have given any facts or reasons for their sup- 
port, it has been apparent that they were not sufficiently ac- 
quainted with the origin, history, and state of the different mis- 
sions in India, to entitle their opinions to any confidence or con- 
sideration. The spirit of their remarks and opinions show the 
feehngs in which they originated, and the errors in their state- 
ments show that they never looked for facts sufficient to verify or 
to correct them. Controversy with such persons and authors, so 
far as producing any conviction of their errors, or gaining their 
good-will and support of the cause, is of little use. They are 
generally incorrigible in their prejudices. 

There is another class in the community who feel an interest 
in the foreign missionary cause, who contribute means liberally 
to promote it, who pray earnestly for its success, and who yet 
sometimes think the progress is very slow, and who not seeing 
the results they expected, are rather in a discouraged and dissat- 
isfied than in a hopeful and thankful state of mind. For the en- 
couragement of such and of all who may read this work, let us 
take a view of what has been done for the evangelization of 
India. And we cannot weU appreciate what has been done 



CHKISTIANITY IN INDIA. 545 

without considering the state of India when the modern mis- 
sionary operations were commenced there. 

Results of the missionary enterprise include obstacles and 
difficulties which have been removed, as well as ground which 
has been acquired. Let us then look at some of the obstacles 
which formerly existed in India to the introduction and spread 
of Christianity, but which have been removed. Some of them 
will now be mentioned. 



INDIA HAS BEEN OPENED FOE THE PROPAGATION OF CHRISTIANITY. 

At the beginning of this century the only missionaries in 
India were Dr. Carey and his associates at Serampore, then re- 
cently arrived in the country, and struggling with many difficul- 
ties, and a few German or Danish missionaries on the Coro- 
mandel Coast. The general sentiment of the Europeans in 
India at that time was opposed to any interference with the re- 
ligion of the native population. The governing authorities in 
India and in England partook largely of this spirit, and they 
were determined to exclude aU missionaries from the territory 
subject to the East India Company, so that Dr. Carey and his 
associates were compelled to live under the protection of the 
king of Denmark, to whom Serampore then belonged. The 
first missionaries who went from America to Lidia in 1812, 
found the country shut against them, and they were ordered by 
the governor-general of India to return home in the same ship 
which had brought them there. This order was avoided by one 
of them (Dr. Judson) proceeding to Burma, then beyond the 
power of the English government, and two others escaping to 
Bombay, Avhere a similar order was at once given to them 
to leave India as soon as possible. It was not tiU the renewal 
of the East India Company's charter in 1813, that the Christian 
public in England, who had long been wishing to send mission- 
aries to India, succeeded after a severe struggle in the Court of 
Directors and in Parliament, in opening India for the free prop- 
agation of the gospel. Thus only about 40 years ago not only 
were the inhabitants of India throughout almost the length and 
breadth of the country enveloped in the darkness of heathenism, 
but there was the determination of their rulers that they should 

46* 



546 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

continue in this state. But now the English government in 
India, instead of interposing its power to exclude missionaries 
from this country, permits them to proceed to any part of its 
territories which they may select for their residence and opera- 
tions. AU parts of India which are subject to the English (and 
these contain 100,000,000 of inhabitants), are as open for the 
free propagation of Christianity, by any proper means, as the 
United States are. In all these territories missionaries can ck- 
culate the Scriptures and any other religious books, and can 
preach all the principles of the gospel and against the rites and 
practices, and the superstitions and doctrines of Mohammedans 
and Hindus as much as they please, and yet be under the pro- 
tection of EngKsh laws and Enghsh magistrates. Thus so 
far as the government is concerned, aU external obstacles and 
internal restrictions are removed, the inhabitants of all classes 
are accessible, and missionaries are protected in the use of all 
proper ways and means in the prosecution of their work. 
Surely this is great progress. It is one of the triumphs of the 
missionary enterprise, and it has not been achieved without 
much effort and perseverance. 

THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT HAS WITHDRAWN ITS SUPPORT OF THE 
RELIGIONS OF INDIA. 

The East India Company on assuming the possession of the 
country from Hindu and Mohammedan kings and princes, who 
had long supported their respective systems of religion and su- 
perstition, continued the policy of those governments, confnm- 
ing their acts and administering their laws. Thus for some 
years the English government in India exhibited the strange and 
anomalous appearance of supporting Christianity for their coun- 
trymen, Hinduism for the Hindus, and Mohammedanism for the 
Mohammedans. They erected churches and supported chaplains 
for Christians ; they repaired mosques for Mohammedans, and 
temples for Hindus ; and they had several thousands of these 
with their moolahs and brahmins, their festivals, ceremonies, and 
worship under their care and superintendence.* These proceed- 

* See pages 331-337. 



CHEISTIANITY IN INDIA. 547 

ings were understood by the native population to show the ap- 
probation of the English government to each of these systems 
of religion, and that it was right for each class of people to fol- 
low thek own religion. I have often heard brahmins and others 
argue earnestly from these proceedings that the English believed 
the Hindu and Mohammedan religions to be true, and to be good 
religions for those who practise them. I have seen brahmins 
in a time of drought spend a part of each day in prayers and 
ceremonies before, around, and over their idols to procure 
rain, and at the end of the drought they would make up their 
account for these idolatrous services and obtain payment for 
them at the English magistrate's office. 

Now it often appeared to be of little use for missionaries to 
try to convince people of the falsehood of their religious systems, 
and the folly and iniquity of their idolatrous rites and worship, 
while they had before them such proceedings of the government, 
and obtained payments of money for their idolatrous rites and 
ceremonies. Happily these difficulties, long so embarrassing 
and discouraging and dishonorable to a Christian government, 
have been in a great degree removed, and there is reason to hope 
that the exceptionable things of this character which still con- 
tinue, will erelong cease. And this great change in the policy 
of the government of India, is to be ascribed to the repeated and 
long-continued exertions of missionaries and others connected 
with the missionary cause in India and England. This change 
is one of the results of the missionary enterprise, and its impor- 
tance cannot weU be appreciated by those who have not seen the 
magnitude of the evU, the iniquity of various kinds connected 
with these systems of superstition, and the obstacles which they 
created in various ways to the spread of Christianity. 



RECENT LAWS ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND PROTECTION. 

Another important change in favor of Christianity is in the 
laws securing liberty of conscience to aU classes of the inhabi- 
tants. Some account of the peculiar laws or institution of the 
Hindus, caUed Caste, has been given in another part of this work.* 

* Pane 465-473. 



548 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

K any Hindu violated the rules of caste, he was to be expelled 
from his house and his home, to be disowned by his family and 
his friends, and to lose all right to his property, hereditary or ac- 
quired. He was to be regarded as dead, and funeral ceremonies 
were to be performed for him. These rules of caste were the 
laws of the Hindu governments in India, and the English in 
succeeding to their power administered the laws which they 
found already estabhshed and in force. Thus the English courts 
administered the Hindu laws, and among them the rules of caste, 
for the Hindus. According to these laws, if any Hindu should 
become a Christian he was expelled from his caste and was ex- 
posed to the evils of being an out-caste. Many Hindus who 
became Christians suffered all the losses and evils of this unrea- 
sonable and unrighteous law. In such cases the law was regarded 
as so plain and its meaning as so explicit that the converts gen- 
erally without any formal and judiciary proceedings submitted 
voluntarily to their losses and sufferings. 

Such a law must necessarily be a great obstacle to the 
progress of Christianity. Missionaries and others who wished 
for the spread of the Gospel, used what means they could 
to effect some change. But the Hindus and Mohamme- 
dans were satisfied with these laws ; not 1 among 100 of 
them wished for any change. In 1832 in the administration of 
Lord William Bentinck, a law "v\'"as passed which was designed 
to secure liberty of conscience in Bengal. This law was limited 
in its operations to Bengal, and even there did not produce all 
the good effects expected from it. No further laws affecting 
caste were enacted till 1850, when the legislative council of India 
passed the following law : — " So much of any law or usage in 
force within the British territories, as inflicts on any person for- 
feiture of rights or property, or may be held in any way to im- 
pair or affect any right of inheritance, by reason of his or her 
renouncing or having been excluded from the communion of any 
religion or being deprived of caste, shall cease to be enforced as 
law in the courts of the East India Company, and in the courts 
established by the Royal Charter within the said territories." 
This law was designed to secure full liberty of conscience to aU 
classes of people, to place Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, and 
Hindus on equal ground, permitting every man to profess what 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 549 

religion he pleases and to change his religion when he pleases, 
and yet enjoy the full protection of the laws. And yet the law 
gave great offence to the Hindus and Mohammedans, and they 
made vigorous and persevering but unavailing efforts to get it 
repealed.* 

This law does not interfere with the caste of any class of 
people. Caste, with its social distinctions and rehgious observ- 
ances, will continue just as long as the Hindus please to retain 
them. They will long continue to be a great obstacle to the 
progress of Christianity and civiUzation. But the rules of caste 
and the decisions of its members are no longer to be recognized 
as the laws of the land, and so no one can suffer so far as the 
law can protect him in his civil rights by disregarding them. 
The evils of caste will still be many, and the sufferings occa- 
sioned by it will be great, because they will be of such a nature 
that no law can remove them nor apply any remedy for them, 
any more than laws can provide a remedy for many social evils 
in the compKcated relations of famihes and society. 

The interpretation of the object and sphit of this law and the 
application of its principles by the courts, appear to have been 
very satisfactory to the friends of religious freedom. The impor- 
tance of this law, applicable as it was at once to 100,000,000 of 
people in the Enghsh territory, and to be applied to 50,000,000 
more as fast as they come under the English government, can 
scarcely be overestimated. The whole history of legislation does 
not contain a law which has produced more important conse- 
quences than will result from this enactment. And tins law 
is one of the results of the missionary enterprise in India. 

No one would expect, after considering the origin, nature, 
and influence of castes, to hear it had ever become an acknowl- 
edged and cherished feeling and usage in any Christian com- 
munity. And yet the history of Christianity in India contains 
some painful chapters upon this subject. Unhappily there have 
been some mistaken opinions in respect to the existence and 
prevalence of caste in the mission churches of India, and so it 
appears expedient to give some account of it. The manner in 
which the distinctions of caste were treated by the Romish mis- 

* See page 473. 



550 IlfDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

sionaries, and how they were admitted into their churches and 
communities of native Christians, has been described.* The 
first Protestant missionaries appear to have had correct views of 
the nature of caste, and to have pursued a proper course in re- 
spect to it. Their rule was, "when any heathen embraced 
Christianity, he must renounce all superstitions connected with 
caste, for we admit no such distinctions, but teach them that in 
Christ they are all one, none having any preference before 
another." In the course of two or three generations the native 
Christian communities at some of their stations consisted 
chiefly of the descendants of their early converts, and many of 
these, though attending upon the instructions of the missiona- 
ries, yet not giving evidence of personal piety were not commu- 
nicants ; just as it is in many religious societies and congrega- 
tions in America. From such communities, surrounded as 
they were by Hindus and Roman Cathohcs aU carefully observ- 
ing the rules of caste and attaching much importance to their 
observance, the missionaries found it difficult to exclude aU the 
prejudices of caste. In their journals and correspondence they 
often spoke of then- difficulties on this subject. These difficul- 
ties continued gradually to increase till they resulted in the ob- 
servance and toleration of some distinctions among these Cbjis- 
tian communities, corresponding somewhat to some of the rules 
of caste among the Hindus and Roman Cathohcs. But these 
distinctions observed in the Protestant communities, were re- 
garded at first as merely of a civil and social character, and 
not as having their origin and observance in religion and mo- 
rality. 

These distinctions among the native Christians in the course 
of time became more and more hke the distinctions of caste 
among the Hindus, and exerted a very unhappy influence. They 
regarded these distinctions as involving their personal, family, 
and social respectability in their own communities and in the 
view of the Hindus. Vigorous and persevering effbrts have 
been made to reform these churches and to eradicate these dis- 
tinctions from the native Christian communities, but the evils of 
admitting them, and then tolerating them so long, are found to 

* See page 517-519. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 551 

be great, and not easily removed. Far the greater part of the 
native Christians formerly connected with Schwartz, and his pre- 
decessors and fellow-laborers, are now under the superintendence 
and care of EngKsh missionaries, and they are all agreed in re- 
garding caste in all its principles, its spirit and its observances, 
as inconsistent with Christianity and not to be tolerated in 
Christian churches. In a few small communities of native 
Christians on the Coromandel Coast which have always been 
under German missionaries, some distinctions of caste are stiU 
tolerated. These communities contain in all about 3,000 souls, 
and they are chiefly the descendants of those who embraced 
Christianity 2 or 3 generations ago. They are connected with 
the Leipsic Missionary Society. 

American missionaries in India have always required a renun- 
ciation of caste from their converts before admitting them to a 
profession of Christianity. And if at any time afterwards the 
spirit of caste became apparent in any of them, as it sometimes 
did, the missionaries have treated such members in the way of 
instruction, admonition, suspension, and excommunication, ac- 
cording to the nature and aggravation of their offences. The 
American missionaries in India can no more be jtistly charged 
with admitting and tolerating caste in their churches, than the 
ministers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia can be justly 
charged with admitting and tolerating drunkenness. 



POLYGAMY. 

Polygamy is practised in India among the Hindus, the Mo- 
hammedans, the Zoroastrians, and the Jews. It is allowed and 
recognized by the Institutes of Menu, by the Koran, by the 
Zendavesta, and the Jews believe by their Scriptures — the Old 
Testament. It is recognized by aU. the courts in India — Na- 
tive and English. The laws of the British Parliament recognize 
polygamy among all these classes, when the marriage connec- 
tion has been formed according to the principles of their re- 
ligion and to their established laws and usages. The marriage 
of a Hindu or a Mohammedan with his second or his third wife,, 
is just as valid and as legally binding on all parties, as his mar- 
riage with his first wife, just as valid as the marriage of any 
Christian in the Church of England, y/ 



552 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Polygamy then is one of the obstacles in India to the intro- 
duction of Christianity, and as it is not only part of the religion 
of the inhabitants, but is also recognized and protected by the 
legislative acts and legal decisions of the government, it be- 
comes an important question in what way this obstacle can be 
met and the evil be removed. 

Supposing now that any Hindu or Mohammedan or Jew, 
who has several wives to whom he has been legally married, 
should give evidence of piety and wish to make a public 
profession of Christianity, what shall be done in respect to 
his polygamy? In contracting these marriages he violated 
no laws of the country and no laws of God as he under- 
stood them, any more than Jacob or Elkanah did in marry- 
ing two wives, or than David did in marrying a yet larger 
number.* This man cannot divorce any of his wives, if he 
would; and it would be great injustice and cruelty to them 
and to their children, if he should. He cannot annul his legal 
obligations to provide for them. He is bound morally and 
legally to support them and to protect them while professing the 
Hindu or Mohammedan or Jewish religion, and his having . be- 
come a Christian and embraced a purer faith, will not release 
him from these obligations in view of the English government 
and courts, or of the native population. Should he put them 
away or all but one, they will stiU be legally his wives and can- 
not be married to any other man. And further, they have done 
nothing to deserve such unkindness, cruelty, and disgrace at his 
hands. 

There are other difficulties connected with native marriages. 
It has been already mentioned that such marriages are generally 
contracted by the parents and celebrated in accordance with the 
laws and usages of the country when the parties are young, 
often when they are mere children. But such marriages, though 
whoUy the work of the parents, are yet valid and of legal obli- 
gation. Suppose a boy or a man who has been thus married, 
should become a Christian before the marriage is consummated, 
and the girl to whom he has been married remains a heathen, 

* See Gen. 29 and 30 chap. 1 Sam. 1 : 2. 2 Sam. 2:2. 3: 2-5. 5: 12, 13. 
12: 8, 24, 25. 2 Chron. 24: 3. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 553 

must he acknowledge the marriage to be morally binding and 
take his wife ? Suppose the woman becomes a Christian and 
the man continues to be a heathen, and on her arriving at a state 
of puberty he claims her to Hve with him. What shall she do ? 
What shall her parents do5if they also have become Christians? 
Suppose again a man or a woman becomes a Christian and the 
other party refuses to fulfil the marriage contract, is the Chris- 
tian party freed from the marriage obligation and at liberty to 
marry again ? And supposing a man or a woman while living 
in the married state should become a Christian, and the other 
party for this reason abandons them or expels them and posi- 
tively refuses to live any more with them, what is the innocent 
and suffering party to do ? Must they continue single ? Or are 
they at liberty to marry again ? How far is 1 Cor. 7 : 15, appli- 
cable to such cases ? 

Some people in this country appear to be of the opinion that 
polygamy being contrary to the Christian dispensation, and conr 
trary, as they think, to the weU-being of families, as well as of 
general society and of nations, must be classed, wherever found, 
wdth theft, adultery, murder, etc., and that people in any country 
who have entered into this state, must have as clearly seen and 
known that they were doing wrong, as if they had been violat- 
ing any of the Ten Commandments. But such were not the 
views of pious Jews in ancient times, as the cases of Jacob, El- 
kanah, and David clearly show, nor are such the views of Jews 
in modern times when they live in countries where they can fol- 
low their own usages and laws. Indeed, so far from viewing 
polygamy as morally wrong, they not unfrequently take a second 
or a third wife with much reluctance, and from a painful sense of 
duty to perpetuate their name, their family, and their inheritance. 

Now what shall be done in respect to such persons when they 
give credible evidence of personal piety and seek admission into 
the Christian church ? No case of this kind occurred in my own 
missionary experience. But some cases have occurred in India, 
and this difficulty wiU occur in numerous instances in the pro- 
gress of the Gospel. The subject wiU also have the considera- 
tion and decision of the highest authority, ecclesiastical and 
judiciary, in India and in England. My opinion is that the 
general practice in missions in respect to such cases will be as 

47 



554 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

follows : — When any man who has more than one wife to whom 
he has been legally married, wishes to be admitted into the 
Christian church, he will be required to make a free and full 
statement of his domestic relations. He wiU be permitted to 
retain his marital connection with all his wives and his parental 
relation to all his children, subject to the discipline of the church 
for the proper government of his household. Whether he may or 
may not, cohabit with his different wives, will be left I beheve en- 
tirely to him and to them to act according to their views of duty. 
At the same time the nature of the married relation according to 
the Christian dispensation and the usage of the church, and the 
reason why such cases are for a while tolerated, will be fully ex- 
plained. No man thus admitted while a polygamist can be 
ordained a Christian teacher.* In this way polygamy will have 
the testunony of the church against it, and as no Christian man 
can ever become a polygamist, all such cases will cease with the 
lives of those thus admitted.f 

PKEACHING. 

There has seldom been much difference of opinion among 
missionaries and other Christians who reside in India in respect 
to the first and most important kind of agency to be employed 
in the propagation of the gospel in that country. This agency 
is acknowledged to be the preaching of the Gospel, — communi- 
cating a knowledge of the way of salvation, and of the doctrines 
and duties of Christianity by the voice of the living preacher. 
This is believed to be the divinely appointed means for convinc- 
ing and converting sinners, whether they are Hindus and Mo- 
hammedans in India, or infidels and unconverted men in Chris- 
tian countries. It must not, however, be understood that preach- 
ing the Gospel to a heathen population consists in dehvering 
formal discourses on particular doctrines and duties to weU- 
ordered and Hstening assembhes as in Christian lands. Preach- 
ing to the heathen of India has much more resemblance to the 
labors of John the Baptist and of Christ and his Apostles, as 
these are described in the New Testament. And no one will 

* 1 Tim. 3:2. f AppencUx C. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 555 

deny that their manner of preaching was good, was the very 
best for the circumstances and character of the people, and that 
the manner as well as the matter of their teaching was properly 
called " preaching the gospel." The preaching of our Saviour 
was, in conversations, discussions, exhortations, parables, and 
sometimes in extended discourses in the synagogues. It was 
suited to the state, circumstances, capacity, and character of the 
people. Sometimes he spoke to only a few individuals and 
even to only one person as to Nicodemus and the woman of 
Samaria, and at other times he addressed great multitudes.* He 
pursued his ministry in private houses, in the open fields, by the 
sea-side, in the synagogues and in the temples on the great fes- 
tivals. His disciples proceeded in a similar manner while he was 
with them and also after his ascension to heaven. 

So the missionary in India strives to communicate a knowl- 
edge of the gospel in conversations and discussions, in his own 
house, in school-houses, in the houses of the natives when he can 
gain admittance into them, in the highways and the byways, at 
their temples and to the multitudes who assemble at places of 
pilgrimage. He endeavors to adapt his language, his manner 
of illustration, and the truth he inculcates, to the capacities, the 
prejudices, and the errors of his hearers. Sometimes when ad- 
dressing a crowd or an assembly he wiU see it best to propose 
some inquiry to awaken their attention, and then perhaps some 
discussion will ensue. And sometimes he will be interrupted 
by cavils and objections to which he must at once reply, or the 
hearers, believing he cannot reply, or is opposed to free discus- 
sion, will disperse. Of such trials and troubles, such hopes and 
disappointments, and such encouragements and discourage- 
ments, missionaries in India have abundant experience. 

The opinion has sometimes been expressed that preaching 
the gospel can be of little use to the people of India till they 
are educated and more capable of understanding moral and re- 
ligious truth. But to suppose that education miust precede the 
preaching of the gospel in order to communicate to them a ca- 
pacity to understand it, such an opinion is contrary to the gen- 
eral tenor and spirit of the Scriptures, to the practice of the 
Apostles, and to the experience of Christians in every age of 

* John 3-7 chapters. 



556 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the world. The Scriptures always speak of mankind, whether 
heathen, or Jews, or nominal Christians, as having natural ca- 
pacity to understand the Divine commands and to feel their ob- 
ligations to obey them. The Hindus, though their minds are 
darkened by thek pantheism and mysticism, and their moral 
sense obscured by their false philosophy, which often con- 
founds natural appetites with moral qualities, and substitutes 
rites and ceremonies for moral duties, yet still retain power to 
understand the gospel and to feel its suitableness to their state 
and character. They can see and understand enough of the 
works of God in creation and providence, if they would only 
use then- reason and obey the dictates of conscience, to con- 
vince them of the sin and folly of worshipping such beings as 
their deities are described to be in their sacred books. And 
further, they are conscious of being sinners, of deserving the di- 
vine displeasure, and of needing mercy, and so they can perceive 
the suitableness of the way of salvation through a Mediator. 

Some have supposed that the Hindu religion with its panthe- 
ism, its polytheism, its mysticism, and its atheism, its cruel and 
horrid rites under the name of virtue, and its almost endless and 
absurdly significant ceremonies, must annihilate the natural 
perception of right and wrong, and leave people destitute of 
conscience till it could be supplied or resuscitated by instruc- 
tion. But such is not the state of the Hindus, as I know from 
long residence among them and much intercom-se with them. 
Nor is such the opinion of any missionary I have ever known, 
who had acquned their language and Uved among them enough 
to form any opinion of then* moral state or sense from his own 
observation and experience. If they cannot understand the evi- 
dences, the doctrines, and the duties of Christianity so well in 
their present state as they could if well educated, yet they can 
understand enough to become wise unto salvation through faith 
in Jesus Christ. There is therefore encouragement to preach 
the gospel to them as soon and as far as possible, and the ques- 
tion in each mission is how far its members shall devote their 
time to this work, and how far to preparing a native agency to 
do it. 

The opinion I have sometimes heard expressed in this coun- 
try that it must be useless, or nearly so, to try to make the peo- 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 557 

pie of India understand the nature of Christianity, the force of 
moral obligation, and their need of divine mercy, this opinion 
is not founded upon facts. K any system of error, superstition, 
and false philosophy, could reduce people to a state of mind in 
which they would become incapable of understanding the gos- 
pel, that system appears to be Hinduism. But constituted as 
man is, with the capacities and powers of a moral agent, and 
conscious as he is of being a sinner — of having done many 
things which he ought not to have done, and of not having done 
many things which he ought to have done, and of often seeing 
and approving the better course, and yet following the worse, 
he will retain, in all the possible states and circumstances where 
he has the free and voluntary exercise of his intellectual and 
moral faculties, the capacity to understand the gospel enough to 
feel its suitableness to his spiritual wants, and to experience its 
quickening power. In no part of the world is any portion of 
the human family so ignorant, so degraded, so debased, so mys- 
tified by error and superstition, as to exclude them from the 
" all nations " and the " every creature " contained in the last 
command of our Saviour to his disciples, — Matt. 28 : 19, and 
Mark 16 : 15. 

The very singular political state of India and the circum- 
stances of the English, the governing power in the country, 
have often made it apparently the duty of missionaries to en- 
gage in labors and duties not contemplated in their original 
object, and not maldng a part of their prescribed operations. 
The number of government chaplains Tvould be sufficient for the 
spiritual instruction and pastoral care of aU the European popu- 
lation in India, if they were so situated that they could attend 
regular services and stated ordinances. But the English popu- 
lation is so scattered over the country that many of them are to 
a great extent unsupplied with the regular ministration of the 
chaplains. There is also the class of people called Indo-Brit- 
ons, who are much dispersed, and yet more imperfectly supphed 
with religious instruction than the scattered English population. 
Nominal Christians thus destitute of preaching and of the ordi- 
nances of the gospel, sm-rounded with a heathen population, 
and often setting a bad example before them, have appeared to 
have urgent claims upon missionaries. The immoral conduct 

47* 



558 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

of nominal Christians early produced in many places very un- 
happy prejudices against the doctrines and morality of Christian- 
ity; for the people of India regard aU who come from Chris- 
tian countries as Christians, and their conduct and character as 
exhibiting the doctrines and spuit of Christianity, just as we look 
upon all Turks as Mohammedans, and thek conduct and charac- 
ter as exhibiting the principles and spirit of the Mohammedan 
rehgion. . So strong and unhappy were these prejudices against 
Christianity that some of the early missionaries often expressed 
the opinion in their journals and correspondence that little sucr 
cess could be reasonably expected from efforts to convert the 
native population to Christianity so long as they had before 
them the unhappy conduct of so many professing Christians, 
and that the first duty of missionaries appeared to be to labor 
for the reformation of their own countrymen in India. 

Motives of this character have induced missionaries in 
many places to engage in undertaldng religious services in 
the English language for Europeans and Indo-Britons, some- 
times only once and sometimes twice on the Sabbath. In a 
few instances preaching in English has become their principal 
work, and in such cases those for whose spiritual good they la- 
bored, assumed their support. These labors in many different 
places in the English language have been very useful, and have 
contributed largely to the improved state of religious principle 
and moral character now existing among these classes of peo- 
ple. American missionaries have engaged less in labors of this 
kind than English missionaries, partly because they have not 
been in places so much requirmg such labors, and in part prob- 
ably because such labors appeared to involve more departure 
from the object of then- mission in the country. 

At the time I left India in 1853, rehgious services were per- 
formed in the English language in more than 70 chapels by 
missionaries, on the Sabbath. In this way they have done and 
are doing a great and good work ; a work apparently necessary 
to be done before the native population of India can be con- 
verted to Christianity. And a work in respect to its importance 
and magnitude which cannot be estimated by any who are not 
personally acquainted with the circumstances and character of 
Europeans in India, and their great power for good or evil over 
the inhabitants of the country. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 559 



TRANSLATIONS OP THE SCRIPTURES. 

The Roman Catholic missionaries made no translations of the 
Scriptm-es in any of the languages of India. They wrote a 
work which they called Ezour Veda,* and then attempted to 
obtain for it the honor, the confidence, the currency, and the 
authority of a -genuine Hindu work of this name. . They ex- 
pended money treely in erecting churches, colleges, and convents, 
but they made no versions of the Scriptures in any of the ver- 
nacular languages, and if any one of the 1,000,000 Roman 
Cathohcs in India and Ceylon has a copy of the word of God, 
he is indebted to the Protestants for it. To Protestants the ig- 
norance and superstition of this class of people (so great that 
in some places they appear to be only one of the Hindu castes) 
do not appear strange in view of the circumstances in which 
they assumed the Christian profession, and in which they have 
always been kept by their spiritual guides. Their bishops and 
missionaries in India still pursue the same course. They will 
not supply their people with the Scriptures, and forbid them to 
receive copies from the Protestants. 

The Dutch missionaries, wherever they introduced Christian- 
ity, translated the Scriptures into the vernacular language of the 
people. They appear to have rehed more on catechetical and 
less on biblical instruction than English and American mission- 
aries do. But the Scriptures were not withheld, nor concealed, 
nor sparingly and reluctantly suppHed to the converts. In this 
respect the Dutch exhibited the genuine spirit of Protestantism. 

In the Danish and German missions, which were the first 
Protestant missions on the continent in India, the translation of 
the Scriptures in Tamul was commenced as soon as the mis- 
sionaries had sufficient knowledge of the language, and in a few 
years the native Christians had the whole Bible in their own 
tongue. AU the different Protestant missions in India have felt 
it to be their duty to furnish the people of all classes, Hindus 
and Mohammedans as weU as Christians, with the Scriptures in 
their own language. To make an intelligible and faithful trans- 

* See p. 514. 



560 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

lation of the Scriptures into any language, is a work of great 
difficulty and requiring much labor. The history of our Eng- 
lish version clearly shows this fact. And this version was made 
into the language of a nation who had professed the Christian 
rehgion for many centuries, in the course of which their lan- 
guage had been acquiring the words, terms, and phrases which 
are necessary for describing the attributes and perfections of Je- 
hovah, the doctrines and duties contained in his word, and the 
views of mind and aifections of heart which constitute the 
experience and character of his sincere worshippers. No one 
who has not carefully examined our EngHsh version, especially 
the sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies of the Pentateuch, the sym- 
bols and figures of the prophets, and the condensed statements 
and description of doctrines and Christian affections in the epis- 
tles, can be aware how aU the powers of the language were 
brought into requisition, and even then sometimes it became 
necessary to coin new terms and to use some aheady current in 
new senses to convey the meaning required. What then must 
be the difficulties of making an intelligible and faithful version 
of the Scriptures into the language of a heathen and idolatrous 
nation, a language comparatively destitute of rehgious words 
and phrases, and in which the few words and terms it may have, 
have senses and uses in accordance with their superstition and 
false religion. The words which suggest one meaning or idea 
to a Christian, wiU often suggest a very different one to a heath- 
en ; and language, used in describing the actions and perfections 
of Jehovah, is often referred to some heathen god, the most 
odious perhaps among aU their deities. 

The difficulties of making intelhgible and faithful versions of 
the Scriptures into the languages of heathen nations, can be 
known only from experience. When missionaries and others 
living in India see how the meaning of language apparently 
plain and intelhgible to every Christian, is yet often misunder- 
stood by heathens, on account of their erroneous rehgious 
views, it becomes obvious that the language of heathen nations, 
especially if they are idolaters and polytheists, as reaUy requires 
to be Christianized before it can become a proper medium for 
describing Christian doctrines, duties, and affections, as then- con- 
duct requires to be reformed, their minds to be enhghtened, and 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 561 

their hearts to be purified before they can become the people of 
God, and worship him in spirit and in truth. But these difficul- 
ties have not deterred missionaries from translating the Scrip- 
tures into the languages of India. Nor should they, for they 
can be removed only by encountering them, struggling with 
them, and effecting the desired changes in them, and in the state 
and character of the people who use them. In this v/ork the 
Bible Societies have rendered great assistance. There are 6 
Bible Societies in India, (including Ceylon,) wliich are aU con- 
nected with Bible Societies in Europe or America, and obtain 
liberal aid from them in money, printing materials, and Scrip- 
tures not published in the country. These Bible Societies in 
Lidia have Committees of Management, and also Committees 
on Translations, consisting of men well acquainted with the 
native languages to whom all versions or revisions, and ques- 
tions affecting translations of the Scriptures, are referred, and by 
whose opinions on such matters the Committees of Manage- 
ment are guided. Thus the Bombay Bible Society* has a 
Translation Committee for Scriptures in the Mahratta language, 
and another for Scriptures in the Gujerattee language — the 
two languages chiefly used in the Bombay Presidency. The 
Madras Bible Society has a Translation Committee for Scrip- 
tures in the Tamul language, another for Scriptures in Can- 
arese, and another for Scriptures in Telugu, the three lan- 
guages chiefly used in the Madras Presidency. So the Calcutta 
and other Bible Societies have their different Translation Com- 
mittees. These Committees consist of the most competent 
men whose services can be engaged, and they are required to 
examine and approve, in a manner and to an extent satisfactory 
to the General Committee, all new translations and revisions of 
former translations before they can be printed. In this way all 

* I "was connected with this Society for 25 years, and for 13 years I was one 
of the Secretaries. I was a member of the Translation C'ommittee for 20 years, 
and for 10 years I was its Secretary. For several of the last years of my resi- 
dence in India, the preparation of a revised and complete edition of the Scrip- 
tures in Mahratta, (a language used by 8 or 10 millions of people,) was my 
principal work. In none of my labors for India did I ever feel a deeper inter- 
est, and upon no part of my missionary life can I look back with more satisfac- 
tion. 



562 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

the means which the natare and circumstances of such worlts 
admit, are used to secure the correctness, suitableness, and faith- 
fulness of the versions of the Scriptures printed by the Bible 
Societies in India. 

Another object of the Bible Societies in India, is to keep 
each depository supplied as far as possible with the Scriptures 
in all the different languages in which they are Hlcely to be re- 
quired. I know of no sight more interesting than such a deposi- 
tory, in a city of half a million * of heathen and Mohammedans, 
containing the Scriptures in aU the different languages in use 
among the people ; such Scriptures to be sold as far as possible, 
and where this is not practicable, to be given to those who will 
preserve and read them. The Bible Societies in India endeavor 
to keep their depositories thus supplied, and with the aid of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society, and by freely cooperating 
with each other in printing and exchanging the Scriptures, they 
are able in a good degree to accomplish their object. Such de- 
positories are monuments which show to heathen, Mohamme- 
dans, and Romanists, in what estimation Christians hold their 
Scriptures, while they invite all classes of people to s.earch the 
Word of God that they may learn the truth and become " wise 
to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ." 

The usual way of making a version of the Scriptures is first 
to translate and print one of the Gospels. The natives who 
read it, naturally inquire what the disciples of Christ did after 
he ascended to heaven ; whether they obeyed his last command, 
and if so, what was the result. To such inquiries the Acts of 
the Apostles furnish the best reply, and this is generally the 
next book translated and printed. In India the next part to be 
translated would be Genesis, and perhaps Exodus to the ten 
commandments, to show the creation of the world, the origin of 
the human race, etc. The Hindu sacred books contain most 
absurd and unreasonable accounts of the creation of the uni- 
verse, of the origin of mankind, of the distinction of castes, etc. 
Should the Scriptures be required for the use of converts, prob- 
ably the book of Psalms, which is the great repository of de- 
votional language and Christian experience, will be next trans- 

* Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay have each more than this number. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 563 

lated and printed. In this way the different books which ap- 
pear to be most needed and most suitable, are translated till the 
whole Bible is completed. A considerable part of what is 
printed, is given away in portions, and the copies of the New 
Testament printed and used are far more than of the whole 
Bible. It is always thought to be best to translate and print all 
the books of the Scriptures, and supply copies to aU who wish for 
them. The Hindus restrict the possession and use of the Vedas 
to the brahmins. They alone have the right to interpret and 
explain these sacred books ; and they are strictly forbidden to 
give them or to teach the language of them to the great body of 
the people, who are forbidden to possess or to read the Vedas, or 
even to hear them read. The Homish priests and missionaries 
have never given the Bible to their proselytes, and the great 
body of the native Roman Catholics in Lidia are almost if not 
quite as ignorant of the Christian Scriptures, as the great body 
of the Hindus are of the Vedas. Protestant missionaries feel it 
their duty to translate aU parts of the Scriptures, and though 
they do not regard all the different books as equally important, 
and do not use some parts separately, yet they include the 
whole in all bound copies of the Bible, and present these to all 
classes of people who wish to obtain them. 

The whole Bible has been translated and printed in 10 differ- 
ent languages, and the New Testament has been translated and 
printed in 5 more languages in India.* The amount of talent 
and learning employed and of labor expended upon these ver- 
sions, cannot possibly be appreciated nor well understood by 
persons not living in the country, or who have no experience in 
work of this kind. No one pretends that any of these versions 
are perfect ; none are so sensible of their imperfection as those 
who have bestowed most labor upon them ; and none are more 

* To some persons tliis may appear to be a great number of languages for one 
country. But it need not appear so when the great extent and population of 
India are considered. Possibly education and social intercourse may hereafter 
be so much increased that some of these languages, in which the New Tes- 
tament only has been printed, may not be perpetuated. But supposing there 
should be 15 different languages in which it is necessary to have distinct 
versions of the whole Bible, this will be only one version on an average, taking 
the whole country, for each 10,000,000 of its inhabitants. 



564 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

ready and willing to consider every objection to them and every 
suggestion concerning them, and then bestow more labor upon 
them for their improvement. But though no one of the lan- 
guages of India has yet a standard version of the Scriptures ; a 
version satisfactory to all who use it, and to continue for gener- 
ations without change, yet all has been done which the number 
and circumstances of missionaries in connection with the state 
of these lainguages and the character of the inhabitants could ac- 
complish. A great work has been begun and much progress 
made in it, and a great blessing has been bestowed upon the 
people. May the former soon be completed, and the latter be 
realized and appreciated by the 150 millions of India, and aU 
become able to read, each in his own language, of the won- 
derful works and the yet more wonderful love of God. 

CHEISTIAN LITERATURE. 

A civilized heathen nation or tribe in many respects presents 
a more encouraging field for the propagation of Christianity 
than an ignorant people, and yet there are some obstacles and dif- 
ficulties in the former which are not to be encountered in the lat- 
ter. In a civilized heathen nation or country, every kind of pop- 
ular superstition and every form of error, iniquity, and depravity 
have become incorporated in their literature. The lullabies of 
the nursery, the stories of childhood, the dramas of the stage, 
the songs of the debauchee, the religious rites of the priest, and 
the discourses of the philosopher, all exhibit and in turn produce 
a corrupt taste, a polluted imagination, dissolute manners, a re- 
ligion of frivolous ceremonies, and a vain and false philosophy. 
The popular mind appears to be preoccupied with the things 
contained in their literature, and to be thoroughly imbued wdth 
its spirit. Now this literature, these num.erous works so closely 
interwoven with the history of their fabulous heroes and the ex- 
ploits of their imaginary deities, cannot be destroyed. The 
only way to diminish their influence, and as far as possible to 
annihilate it, is to create a literature of a different character ; a 
great, a difficult, and yet a necessary work, if the people are 
ever to change their religious principles and their moral charac- 
ter. The character and spirit of the Sanscrit and vernacular 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 565 

literature are such that education formerly appeared to be of 
little use except as a mere qualification for business, and so 
might just as well be limited to the objects for which it was 
wanted, as knowledge of the mechanical arts and skill in apply- 
ing them are limited to the demand for them. And if this ap- 
peared to be the state of men in respect to education, how 
much more so in respect to women, who in oriental countries 
do not engage in business transactions requiring correspond- 
ence, numerical calculations, etc. It was often said by some 
who were well acquainted with the character of the indigenous 
literature, that it was not expedient to make any effort to pro- 
mote native female education till there should be some works in 
the language which were worth reading, which would not be 
pernicious in their influence, and so be worse than to be igno- 
rant of them. 

The Boards or Councils of Education, which have been de- 
scribed,* have pubhshed some valuable works, as grammars, 
dictionaries, and other school-books to be used in the schools 
and colleges under their superintendence, and they have also pub- 
lished some useful works of general literature, as history, geogra- 
phy, chemistry, etc. By such pubHcations they are performing 
good service in the cause of general education. But it has been 
one of the principles of these Boards, Councils, and Committees 
not to interfere in any way, in their course of education or in their 
publications, with the religious opinions and superstitions of any 
class of the native population. Their publications must con- 
tain nothing against Hinduism, or Mohammedanism, or Zoroas- 
trianism. And some members of these bodies, being natives, 
are very careful that this rule shall be observed. 

It must be evident that works prepared and published on such 
principles, however useful they might be in promoting educa- 
tion, would yet exert but little moral influence on the- commu- 
nity, and eflect but little, if any change in their rehgious 
principles and practices. They would leave the native popula- 
tion stiU under the undisputed influence of their systems of false 
religion and debasing superstition. A sound, moral, and Chris- 
tian literature still remained to be supplied. Missionaries saw 

* Page 317. 
48 



566 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

this necessity, and as there appeared to be no other way of sup- 
plying it, they engaged earnestly in this great work. Their 
efforts have been liberally supported by the Christian pubhc in 
India, in England, and in America. There are now in India 
several Societies which are engaged in tliis good work, and they 
are liberally assisted by similar Societies in Europe and Amer- 
ica. Some of the publications of these Societies are tracts, 
and small books for children, but others contain 400 and 500 
pages each, and are in no way inferior in appearance to the 
pubhcations of similar Societies m Europe and America. The 
series of the pubhcations issued by some of these Societies now 
include nearly 100 works of different kinds. Some of these are 
translations, some are compilations, but more of them are origi- 
nal works, as such are more suited to the state and character of 
the people than mere translations of any European or American 
work. These pubhcations are printed and bound in a neat and 
economical style, and they are circulated through aU parts of 
India. They are carried by colporteurs into villages and neigh- 
borhoods, where the voice of the preacher has never been heard, 
and into many families from which he is excluded. The pubh- 
cations of these Societies now amount to several million copies. 
For printing the Scriptures, tracts. Christian works, and 
school-books, there are now in India 25 printing estabhshments. 
Some of these have type-making and book-binding departments, 
and employ more than 100 men. Such printing estabhshments 
are essential to the efficiency and economy of missions, and they 
show the completeness of the means and operations of Mission- 
ary Societies for accomphshing the work in which they are 
engaged. 

EDUCATION. 

Among some heathen nations, as the aborigines of America, 
the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific, and a large part of 
Africa, education in science and Hterature was unknown before 
missionaries went to them, as they have no science or literature, 
not even a written language. If such people are intellectually 
capable of apprehending the truths of Christianity, and moraUy 
capable of experiencing its enhghtening and transforming power, 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 567 

yet the history of missions shows that while they continue in 
this state, their -Christianity will bear little fruit, and cannot be 
expected long to continue in a pure state. In missionary opera- 
tions among such tribes and nations, the importance of educa- 
tion has always been admitted by aU Protestant denominations. 
In the most civilized heathen nations, though some persons, 
according to the standard of education in such countries, may 
be highly educated, yet the great body of the people have 
no education, and many more have not enough to read the 
Scriptures, or any Christian work intelligibly. And further, ed- 
ucation as it is conducted in such countries, is so much mixed 
up with error, superstition, and false philosophy, that the preju- 
dices it produces sometimes appear to put people in a more un- 
favorable state for appreciating and embracing the Gospel, than 
if they were entirely uneducated. Such is the state and charac- 
ter of some classes of people in India. In commencing their 
operations, missionaries have generally seen the propriety and 
importance of establishing schools. One reason for them is to 
educate the minds of the people so that they may be more capa- 
ble of understanding and appreciating the facts and evidences, 
the doctrines and duties of the Scriptures. Another reason for 
them is to increase the influence of missionaries with the peo- 
ple by communicating some advantages which they can appre- 
ciate, and by showing that Christianity rests upon an intelligent 
perception of its doctrines, and contains reasons for the perform- 
ance of aU its duties. And another reason for such education is 
in its procuring means and opening ways of access to the people, 
and opportunities for preaching to them. One great difficulty 
which missionaries often experience, is in obtaining access to 
people in circumstances where Christianity can be made the 
subject of communication, or consideration, or of conversation. 
People in their heathen state have no Sabbath when they meet 
together for worship. While heathen, and attached to their 
own superstitions, they will not leave their business and occupa- 
tions, and assemble, to any considerable extent, to hear Chris- 
tian instruction. Curiosity may induce some to go a few times, 
but this feeling is soon satisfied, and indifference, if not aver- 
sion, succeed. They have holidays enough and too many, but 
at such times they are generally intent uiDon keeping then holi- 



568 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

days in their usual manner, which is generally very unfavorable 
to their hearing Christian instruction. Indeed, heathen hohdays 
and festivals furnish much less favorable means and opportuni- 
ties among a fixed population for communicating or hearing 
religious instruction, than is generally supposed. Missionaries 
also jfind it difficult to obtain suitable places for holding reUgious 
meetmgs. Their own houses (if they have any) may be incon- 
venient, or distant, or people may have some prejudice against 
assembhng in them ; the people may not have any suitable places 
for meeting, and be unwiUing that their houses should be used in 
this way. In such circumstances, schools become very impor- 
tant as a medium of communication with different classes of 
people, with children and parents, and with men and women. 
And school-houses also become important as places for becom- 
ing acquainted with people for social intercom'se and religious 
worship. School-houses become chapels under the control of 
missionaries. Their use for this purpose is often more impor- 
tant than for education. These reasons for making the educa- 
tion of the common people a part of missionary operations, are 
stronger in some heathen countries than in others, and I believe 
they can seldom if ever be adequately and fuUy appreciated by 
persons who have not themselves lived among a heathen popu- 
lation, and so had opportunities for becoming a-cquainted with 
their state and character. 

Cliristian teachers should always be employed in mission 
schools if such can be obtained. But it will often be impossi- 
ble to obtain such tiU a mission has made considerable progress 
and has competent teachers among its converts. But shall any 
mission ever employ heathen teachers in its schools? This 
question must be considered and decided in view of the charac- 
ter of the supposed teachers and the circumstances of a mis- 
sion. In the mission schools in India the Scriptures are read, 
catechisms are taught and other- Christian books are used. Mis- 
sionaries have also opportunities of giving much rehgious in- 
struction to the teachers, the scholars, and their parents. In 
such schools no heathen or nominal Christian teacher should 
be employed, if he is immoral in his conduct, or if he treats re- 
ligion with levity, or ridicules any of the facts, or doctiines, or 
duties of Christianity, or actively opposes the teaching and in- 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 569 

fluence of the missionaries. If Christian teachers cannot be ob- 
tained, and there are heathen teachers (I mean teachers who 
have not yet professed Christianity) of such a character as I 
have often known, I believe it may be expedient to employ them. 
Many such teachers have become converts, and then catechists 
and preachers of the Gospel. 

The number of common free schools in all the missions in 
India and Ceylon at the latest accounts was 1,347, and the 
number of scholars in them was 47,504. These are all put 
down in the accounts as schools for boys. But where there are 
no schools expressly for girls, they are admitted into the schools 
for boys, that is, in such places the schools are common for both 
boys and girls, and in many of the schools for native Christians 
a considerable portion of the scholars are gMs. 

The general and inveterate prejudices against female educa- 
tion among the Mohammedan and Hindu population in India 
are well known. For a long time these prejudices were an ef- 
fectual obstacle against all efforts to introduce female education. 
But by persevering and repeated efforts some schools expressly 
for girls were opened in some different missions, and now in 
nearly aU the missions there are such schools. In some places 
girls and boys attend the same schools, especially where the 
scholars belong to native Christian families, but it has generally 
been found to be expedient to have schools expressly for girls. 
There are now in connection with the different missions 347 
free common schools for girls in India, and the scholars in them 
amount to 11,549, a number which would have appeared in- 
credible, had any one predicted it a few years ago. 

In nothing have the native prejudices yielded more to Euro- 
pean civilization and example than on the subject of female edu- 
cation. This department of education was commenced by mis- 
sionaries, and for some years encountered strong prejudice and 
opposition. But the educated young men were at length able to 
see the advantages of it in some native girls, who had been edu- 
cated in the mission schools, and also in the superiority of Eu- 
ropean females over their countrywomen of corresponding 
wealth and social position. These young men began to feel a 
desire that the girls to whom they had been betrothed in their 
childhood, and also that their sisters should be educated, and 

48* 



570 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

they commenced a few schools for this pm-pose. English ladies 
of rank, and gentlemen of high official and social position, en- 
com-aged this spkit and enterprise. Donations and subscrip- 
tions were freely made, and female schools were commenced in 
Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and some other large cities. Com- 
menced under such auspices, these schools were not likely to 
fail. Encouraged by their betrothed husbands and their broth- 
ers, many girls of the most respectable native families began to 
attend them. The scholars were soon numbered by hundreds 
and now amount to some thousands. The examinations are 
public and attended by Enghsh gentlemen and ladies of the 
highest rank. Prizes for improvement and good scholarship 
are given, and a zeal, interest, and liberaKty are manifested in 
the cause that would have appeared quite incredible a few 
years ago, to those acquainted only with the bigoted and apa- 
thetic BQndus as they then were. Some of the aged and more 
orthodox Hindus still retain their prejudices, and are much con- 
cerned at the changes they see taking place, and they some- 
times predict the ruin of female vktue, and the disgrace of all 
respectable famihes. But the young men of the higher classes 
are carrying on this cause with prudence, energy, hberahty, 
and success. 

The government of India, aware of the changing state of na- 
tive views and feelings and of the importance of this cause to 
the well-being of the native population, has recently included 
female education in their reformed system of education. In a 
late despatch from the Court of Dnectors to the governor- 
general of India in council, they say : — 

" The importance of female education in India cannot be 
overrated; and we have observed with pleasure the evidence 
which is now afforded of an increased desire on the part of 
many of the natives of India to give a good education to their 
daughters. By this means a far greater proportion of impulse 
is imparted to the educational and moral tone of the people 
than by the education of men. We have already observed that 
schools for females are included among those to which grants 
in aid may be given, and we cannot refrain from expressing our 
cordial sympathy with the efforts which are being made in this 
direction. Our governor-general in council has declared in a 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 571 

communication to the government of Bengal that the govern- 
ment ought to give to native female education in India, its 
firank and cordial support, and in this we heartily concur." 

How different from the state and prospect of India, when the 
missionaries could not find a native woman who could read, 
and when no man wished his wife or his daughter to learn to 
read, believing and frankly avowing his belief that it would be 
better for men and for famihes and for society, for aU women 
to continue ignorant as they then were. Who can doubt that 
a new era has commenced in the social, moral, and intellectual 
state of India. A few years have seen changes on this subject, 
which considering the inveterate prejudices and peculiar charac- 
ter of the people we could scarcely expect to see in as many 
generations. 

There is another class of missionary schools commonly called 
Boarding Schools, because the scholars are generally boarded 
on the mission premises, or receive some allowance for their 
support and live in families and in circumstances approved by 
the missionaries. These schools consist of orphans who have 
none to provide for them, or are the children of native Chris- 
tians who are too poor or too ignorant to educate them, and in 
some instances of the children of respectable Hindus and Mo- 
hammedans who are willing they should conform to the rules 
of the schools. In these institutions the scholars are more 
separated from the Hindu and Mohammedan population, are 
brought more du'ectly under Christian influence, and receive 
more rehgious instruction in public and in private. In most of 
these schools the English language is more or less taught, and 
in some of them the teaching is chiefly in English. The edu- 
cation which some such persons obtain, is of a high character, 
being designed to prepare them to become teachers, catechists, 
and preachers. These institutions are regarded as holding an 
important place in missionary operations, and some who were 
educated in them, have been very useful in the missionary 
work. It has generally been found expedient to have separate 
schools for boys and for girls. Sometimes they are in different 
parts of the same premises, but generally at different stations of 
the same mission. In the last missionary reports and pubhshed 
accounts, there were then 93 Boarding Schools for boys, con- 



572 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

taining 2,414 scholars ; and 102 Boarding Schools for girls, 
containing 2,779 scholars. The principal reason for so many- 
Boarding Schools for gkls is that these schools furnish the only 
means in the country for female education of the higher kind, 
whereas many young men are educated in other institutions 
in the English language, science, and literature. 

There is yet another class of educational institutions con- 
nected with missions in India, called Enghsh Schools, High 
Schools, Seminaries, and Colleges. In these institutions the 
English language, and general science and literature are taught 
in connection with Christianity and its evidences, its history, its 
doctrines, and its duties. Some of these schools are small, with 
only one teacher, while others are large, containing several hun- 
dred scholars, and a number of instructors. The instruction is 
generally gratuitous. In some schools the scholars pay admis- 
sion fees, and for the use of books, and some of these schools or 
colleges, as they are called, have scholarships endowed for the 
support of a certain number of scholars. In Calcut"ta, Madras, 
Bombay, and in most of the large cities, are institutions of this 
character. In these cities the scholars generally belong to the 
middling and higher classes. In some of these institutions are 
scholars and classes, who would not compare unfavorably to 
those in the High Schools, and even in some of the Colleges in 
the United States. 

The whole number of these English schools and institutions, 
connected with the different missions in India and Ceylon at 
the latest accounts, was 126, and the whole number of scholars 
in them was 14,562. English education has made more pro- 
gress in Bengal, than in any other part of India. Some of the 
institutions for English education in all its various branches in 
Calcutta contain several hundred scholars, and it was recently 
stated on reliable authority that the number of scholars con- 
nected with these schools in that city and its vicinity exceeded 
5,000. The policy of the English government in India in ex- 
cluding all religious instruction from their system of education, 
and the spirit of natural and wide-spreading scepticism, resulting 
fi:om that system, have excited strong interest for these institu- 
tions, and obtained much support for them. Many, who were 
Hindus and Mohammedans when they began their education in 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 573 

these institutions, became convinced of the truth of Christian- 
ity and openly professed their faith in Christ. Some such are 
now connected with the different missions, and are very usefully 
employed as ordained missionaries, licensed preachers, and cate- 
chists ; some are filling important and responsible situations in 
the service of the government, and some are engaged in the pur- 
suits of private business. A view of the government system of 
education and the results it has produced, and must naturally 
produce in the Hindu mind in respect to their sacred books, 
and a comparison of that system and its resillts with the system 
of education pursued in the different missions and the results 
of this system, are calculated to show the great importance of 
Christian education among the middle and higher classes of the 
native population. No one weU acquainted A^dth the native 
population can survey these numerous educational institutions, 
situated as they generally are in the great cities and large 
towns, containing so many students, all pursuing such a course 
of education without perceiving that this department of mission- 
ary operations is an agency of great influence, not only in 
subverting superstition and idolatry, but of diffusing sound re- 
ligious knowledge and bringing very many to a saving ac- 
quaintance with divine truth. 



NATIVE AGENCY. 

It must be obvious to aU who contemplate the magnitude of 
the missionary work in India — the evangeHzation of 150,000,- 
000 — that it can never be accomphshed by the direct personal 
labors of men sent from Europe and America. How is the 
great population of that country ever to hear the Gospel ? The 
answer to this inquiry is obvious and easy to find. This 
great work must be accomphshed chiefly by a native agency. 
It is by such an agency the great body of the people of India 
are to be converted to Christianity, and they must then have a 
native ministry. 

The manner in which the East India Company acquired pos- 
session of that great country, and stUl holds and governs it, 
furnishes an appropriate illustration of the means by which its 
inhabitants are to be brought from their present state of supersti- 



574 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

tion and idolatry into the Idngdom and under the government 
of Emmanuel. The English acquired India by employing the 
inhabitants of the country to conquer it for them. The East In- 
dia Company sent agents and officers to India, who enlisted the 
natives into their service, formed them into regiments, instructed 
them in military discipline, furnished them with weapons and 
showed them how to use them. These officers had then to re- 
tain the control of these regiments, support them and accom- 
pany, or rather lead them from province to province, and from 
one country to another. The sable regiments, thus enlisted, dis- 
ciplined, and supported, have been seen following their English 
officers and marching under their banners not only in every part 
of India, but in Egypt, in Arabia, in Persia, in Afghanistan, in 
Mauritius, in Burma, in Java, and in China and its islands. Of 
the East India Company's military force probably at no time 
within a century past has more than one fourth, and sometimes 
not more than one eighth part been European, and all the rest 
have been natives of the country. A similar course has been 
pursued in the civU government of the country. Of the great 
number of men there employed in government business only a 
very small proportion, probably not 1 in 100, are sent from Eng- 
land. But these few employ, superintend, direct, and control 
the whole. To this system of policy, civil and military, wisely 
conceived and ably managed, England is indebted for the acqui- 
sition of her Asiatic possessions. And she could not now retain 
and govern her possessions in India by any civil agency and mil- 
itary force she could send from England. She can only retain 
and govern what she has acquired by continuing to employ the 
same agency under her control. And if the EngHsh had not 
pursued this course of policy, their possessions in India would 
now have consisted of some scattered forts here and there, and 
a few square miles of territory around them. 

Now the Christians of America and Europe must pursue a 
somewhat analogous course in conquering India from the pow- 
ers of darkness and bringing it under the dominion of Emman- 
uel. Missionaries must first be sent from Europe and America 
to preach the Gospel, but they should from the first have the 
work of preparing a native agency in view. Some missionary 
societies have made the preparation of such an agency a more 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 575 

prominent part of their operations than others. The number 
of their converts may not for a while have been large, yet they 
have acquired more influence in the native population. Of the 
ordained missionaries now in^ India about 50 are natives of the 
country, while the number of licensed preachers and catechists 
amounts to nearly or quite 700. These facts show that in some 
missions a good beginning has been made. While all mission- 
aries are agreed that a native agency is very desirable, aU do not 
attach equal importance to labors of this class of men. And 
there is some difference of opinion in respect to the best means 
of creating such agency. 

Some missions have institutions in which pious young men, 
selected to become missionaries, catechists, etc., are educated 
expressly for this work. Other missions have seminaries, in 
some places called colleges, for general education in English 
science and literature as well as in the vernacular languages in 
connection with Christianity. These institutions are open to aU 
classes of people upon the same terms. There are several such 
institutions of a high character and containing several hundred 
students in the large cities. In these institutions the students 
who have professed Christianity are formed into a theological 
class, and pursue an appropriate course of reading and instruc- 
tion under the missionaries. 

The climate of India furnishes strong reasons for raising up a 
native agency as soon as practicable. Though not so unhealthy 
as has been generally supposed, yet the climate will always be 
enervating and sickly to the European and American constitu- 
tion.* Not only is Hfe shorter and health more uncertain, but 

* " It is generally believed that in this country [India] owing to the deadly 
climate the average duration of missionary life Is 7 years, and many have come 
out as missionaries under the idea that they would be certain to meet with a pre- 
mature death. But this is a great mistake. From a careful induction of the 
lives or services of 250 missionaries we have found that hitherto the average du- 
ration of missionary labor in India has been 1 6 years and 9 months each. It 
was doubtless much less at first, and numerous causes can be adduced in which 
young missionaries were cut off after a very short term of labor. But a better 
knowledge of the climate and of the precautions to be used against it, the use 
of airy dwelling-houses and light dress with other circumstances, have tended 
very much to reduce the injurious influence of the climate and preserve health, 
so that the average, duration of life and labor is improving every year. As an 
illustration of this fact we may state that out of 147 missionaries laboring in In- 



576 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

they have less energy of body and mind than in their native cK- 
mate. And they can better perform the labor of qualifying a 
native agency than they can endure the fatigue and exposure of 
preaching to the native population in the only places and cir- 
cumstances in which they can have access to them. It is im-r 
possible for missionaries to pursue their labors of itinerating and 
preaching in the cottages and hamlets and villages over a large 
part of India during much of the time in the hot months and in 
the rainy season. But such are the constitutions and habits of 
the natives that they could perform such missionary labors and 
yet suffer little inconvenience or injury to health from what has 
often cost Europeans sickness, sufferings, and death. 

The natm-e and number of the languages of India furnish a 
strong reason for missionaries to prepare a native agency for 
theij work. It has been said that missionaries have often failed 
in acquning sufficient knowledge of the native languages to use 
them acceptably and intelligibly to the native population. But 
those who originated such an opinion, were mistaken. They 
were not competent judges themselves, and did not take the 
trouble to obtain the opinion of those who were competent. A 
few European missionaries have found a useful and what ap- 
peared to them an appropriate sphere of labor in preaching to 
their countrymen and Indo-Britons in Enghsh, or in teaching 
EngHsh science and literature in the mission seminaries. But I 
have known no American missionary, who has not acquired a 
knowledge of the native language of the people around him, 
and then made it the principal medium of his labors. Probably 
few Europeans or Americans acquire the exact pronunciation 
of the native languages, just as few foreigners ever acquire the 
exact pronunciation of aU the words and sounds in the English 
language. Some of the native languages are difficult to acquire, 
and in most of these languages the first missionaries had to pre- 
pare grammars and dictionaries. Missionaries now have many 
and important facilities for acquiring the languages of India, 

dia and Ceylon in 1830, fifty (we can give their names) are still laboring in 
health and usefulness, while of the 97 others who have since died or retired, 20 
labored more than 20 years each. Several living missionaries have been in 
India more than 30 years. It is a remarkable fact that the average missionary 
life of 47 of the Tranquebar missionaries last century was 22 years each." — 
Calcutta Eevieiv, No. 31, p. 244. 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 577 

compared with what their predecessors had. Still to acquire 
such a knowledge of any vernacular language as every mission- 
ary should have, requires considerable time and labor, and during 
all this time he must be supported from the funds of the society 
with which he is connected. Now a native missionary would 
not require this time, labor, and expense, and would yet be able 
to use his vernacular language in a more forcible, effectual, and 
acceptable manner, more suited to persons of every degree of 
capacity and measure of inteUigence, than American or Euro- 
pean missionaries are ever likely to acquire. 

There is yet another reason in the languages of the people for 
a native agency. In most of the large cities the population is 
composed of different classes, and these classes have each their 
own language. Men of business early and easily acquire a 
kno^^dedge of these different languages, and use them fluently 
as far as they have occasion. But the people of each class gen- 
erally understand and use only their own hereditary language. 
Now a missionary has seldom, time to acquke two or more lan- 
guages so as to use them intelligibly and acceptably on rehgious 
subjects, and yet for want of understanding them, he often feels 
that he cannot improve the best opportunities and openings for 
usefulness. But a native missionary would not experience this 
difficulty, for such educated men generally understand aU the 
languages used in the places where they live, and they can 
often apparently use one as well as another. 

Another important reason for a native agency is its cheapness. 
The expense of one missionary's going to India and of his sup- 
port there till he has become qualified for his work, is ordinarily 
enough to educate several native missionaries. And then the 
expense of one American or European missionary (including his 
family) when reduced to the lowest rate consistent with a due 
regard to health and usefulness, are ordinarily enough to support 
several native missionaries. The truth of this is well known to 
aU who have any experience of living in India, and it corresponds 
to the systems of salaries and allowances in use in all mission- 
ary societies for their European and native agency.* 

* It may not bft improper to make a few remarks concerning the support of 
missionaries, thus incidentally brought into view. The expenses of living for 
Europeans or Americans in India in such circumstances as health requires, are 

49 



578 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

I often heard native missionaries preach to their countrymen, 
and I have never heard religious services of any Idnd and in 
any place with greater satisfaction. Their sermons and exhor- 
tations were sound in doctrine, appropriate in manner, and fer- 
vent in spirit. No one can hear them thus addressing their coun- 
trymen on the sin, folly, and absurdity of polytheism and idola- 
try, describing the character of Jehovah as displayed in his works 
and revealed in his word, inculcating the duty and obligation of 
all to love and serve him, setting forth his love for mankind as 
manifested in the way of salvation, and the love of Christ as 
exhibited in giving himself for an atoning sacrifice, and now ex- 
alted to be a Saviour, able, willing, and waiting to save all that 
come unto God through him, and then urging them to forsake 
their idolatry, turn to the true God, flee from the wrath to come, 

generally rather large. Missionaries have now in nearly all places fixed sala- 
ries, but each missionary society has its own system of economy. Some mis- 
sionaries have a fixed salary, designed for all their expenses in the same manner 
as salaries are in the United States. In some missions each missionary has a sal- 
ary for personal and family expenses, but house-rent, travelling, etc., are extra 
charges. The expenses of living vary as much in different places as they do in 
this country, and this necessarily occasions a difference in salaries. But no mis- 
sionary society gives any salary or allowance as compensation for labor or 
remuneration for services. The idea or principle of compensation has no place 
so far as I am aware in the system or economy of any mission in India. Sala- 
ries have always been fixed with a view to necessary and current expenses, and 
are never intended to exceed them. 

I saw much of missionary operations in Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and Ceylon. 
The salaries of the European missionaries have generally been fixed by com- 
mittees in India — men who are well acquainted with the climate, the circum- 
stances, the duties and usefulness of missionaries, who feel a deep interest in 
the cause, and contribute liberally to promote it. Neither missions, nor commit- 
tees, nor missionaries in India can be justly charged with extravagance in their 
expenditures. And yet the expense of one European or American missionary 
or family is as much as of several natives. This is not a matter of choice on 
the part of the former, but of necessity, if they have any regard to their useful- 
ness, health, and life. For it is just as impossible for Europeans and Americans 
to live in the manner and circumstances of the people of that country, as it is 
for the latter to acquire the features and complexion of Europeans. A few Eu- 
ropeans have at different times endeavored to live like the native population on 
the ground of its being less expensive, of its affording better opportunities to 
exhibit the true spirit of Christianity, and in the hope of acquiring more social 
and personal influence. The result of such experiments have not been of a 
nature to encourage them. 



CHRISTIANITY IK INDIA. 579 

and lay hold on eternal life by looking to Jesus as their Media- 
tor and Saviour — no one can hear these native missionaries thus 
addressing their countrymen without being forcibly impressed 
with the great importance of a native ministry, and also -with 
the importance of using all the means which appear Hkely by 
the blessing of God to secure such an agency in every mission 
as soon as possible. 

GENERAL STATEMENTS AND REMARKS. 

The question may naturally arise, what are the views of the 
native population generally concerning Christianity ? Now 
the great body of the inhabitants have no clear and distinct 
views on the subject. They suppose that Europeans have some 
rehgion, and perhaps many of them have somewhere seen a 
church. But they have never heard a sermon preached, nor 
a word said on the subject of Christianity. They have never 
read any part of the Scriptures nor any Christian book, nor 
could they read them if they had them, for only a small propor- 
tion of the people are«able to read. A view of the great extent 
of India, its great population, and the number and location of 
the missionaries, will show that such must be the general state 
of the people. It is melancholy to contemplate them in this 
state, but such is the fact. 

There is another class or portion of them, who know that the 
rehgion of Europeans inculcates the existence and worship of 
only one God, that it forbids idolatry, and that it has its name 
from Jesus Christ who was in some way concerned, who per- 
formed some part they do not know what, in originating or es- . 
tablishing it. They suppose Christianity may be a good relig- 
ion for those to whom it was given, and who have always prac- 
tised it. But they do not suppose it claims to be the only true 
rehgion, and was designed for all mankind. Such persons have 
no knowledge of Christianity which impairs their confidence 
in their own system, nor have they generally any conviction 
of its truth which interferes with their observing all the principles 
and practices of their own religion. And they have not gener- 
ally any prejudice against Christianity, unless what has been 
excited by the immoral conduct of some who profess it. For 



580 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

they do not know enough of Christianity, of its nature and doc- 
trines, and its spmt and claims, to feel any prejudice against it. 

There is another class or portion of the population who know 
more of Christianity, and are in a different state of mind in re- 
spect to it. They have perhaps been educated in some of the 
mission schools, or heard the Gospel preached, or read the Scrip- 
tui'cs, or some Christian books, or have some acquaintance with 
the native Christians. In these, or some other ways, they have 
acquired considerable knowledge of Christianity, its history, its 
doctrines, and its duties. They have often more or less convic- 
tion of the truth of the Gospel, and of their duty to embrace it. 
They continue, however, to follow the Hindu religion, excusing 
themselves to their own consciences and to others as well as 
they can, for what they do. There are strong motives of a 
worldly nature to induce such persons to continue in their hered- 
itary faith ; at least not to renounce it, if they do not believe 
and practise it. If they should renounce their ancestral rehgion 
and embrace Christianity, they must incur sneering, reproach, 
and abuse. They must lose the good-will of then* relatives and 
friends. They must brealc the rules of ca,ste and become out- 
castes, and though the recent laws and decisions of the courts 
now protect such persons in the enjoyment of their personal and 
property rights, yet the circumstances of those who are expelled 
from their caste, who in the view of people generally become out- 
castes, are often very painful. In such cases there is often much 
suffering, which no law and no court can prevent, or reheve, or 
remove. The trials and suffermgs which people often have to 
endure for breaking the rules of caste and becoming outcastes, 
• cannot well be conceived by those who have not experienced 
them, or seen others actually enduring them. The members of 
the Madras Missionary Conference only expressed what many 
missionaries have seen, when they said, " Caste is one of the 
greatest obstacles to the progress of the Gospel in Lidia." And 
agam, " We have long regarded caste as a most formidable op- 
ponent of genuine Christianity, and a deadher enemy in some 
respects to the souls of this people than even idolatry." Many 
of this class of people have peculiar claims on Christians for 
forbearance and sympathy, and for prayer to the God of all 
grace that they may be more enlightened and have strength of 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 581 

mind and purpose to act in accordance with their convictions 
of duty and to endure all its consequences. 

There is another large and important class who regard Chris- 
tianity and indeed aU religion in a different light, and who 
are actuated by a different spirit. Many causes besides the 
means used to introduce and propagate Christianity, have been 
in operation for many years to undermine Hinduism. Some of 
the measures of the English government necessarily, though in- 
directly, have this influence. Foreign commerce, personal inter- 
course with foreigners, and the knowledge of foreign countries 
which the Hindus are acquiring in various ways, have a strong 
reflex influence upon their views of their own country, its gov- 
ernment, religion, usages, and customs. Prominent among the 
causes which are cooperating to change the religious opinions 
and character of the Hindus, must be reckoned education in 
modern science and literature. It has been aheady stated that 
Christianity is excluded from the numerous colleges, seminaries, 
high schools and vernacular schools connected with the govern- 
ment.* But the Hindu sacred books are of such a character 
that education in modern science and literature must inevitably 
destroy aU confidence in them and all respect for them.f There 
are now some hundreds of young men in Calcutta, Madras, Bom- 
bay, and other large cities, amounting probably to some thou- 
sands in all India, who through the influence of education and 
other causes have lost all confidence in Hinduism as the system 
was formerly taught and beheved by the learned and is still prac- 
tised by the mass of the people. It is not too much to say that 
hundreds of this class are as well educated for professions (were 
any professions open before them) and for social influence in 
India, as young men generally are for the professions and for 
social influence in this country when they graduate at our col- 
leges. Their education has been of a different character. Few 
of them have learned Latin or Greek, but they generally under- 
stand and can fluently use 2 or 3 of the modern languages of 
India, and they have acquired a knowledge of the Enghsh lan- 
guage and its hterature, or of Sanscrit, or of Persian, or of Arabic. 
The religious opinions of this class are generally deistical and 
are very freely and fearlessly avowed among themselves. 
* Page 319. f Page 320, 321. 

49* 



582 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

This class of persons have clubs, associations, and societies 
for debates, discussions, and lectures, and among the subjects 
which engage their attention at such times, rehgion in some of 
its forms and claims has a prominent place. Christianity, as 
being the religion of the English (now the governing power of 
then- country) and also of Europe, now containing the most 
highly civilized and powerful nations in the world, would natu- 
rally excite then- curiosity, while its aggi-essive spirit and 
progressive state in their country excites feelings of opposition. 
Their Hbraries are well furnished with infidel and deistical 
works which have been procured from Europe and America. 
The historical facts and doctrines of the Bible, the ordinances of 
the Gospel, and certain parts and periods of the history of 
Christianity are made the subjects of inquiry, discussions, and 
lectures. At such times Christianity and aU connected with it, 
the Scripture doctrines and characters, as well as parts of its 
history, are often treated with levity, scurrility, revihng, and 
blasphemy. To counteract the influence of such meetings 
where no one can speak for Christianity, missionaries appoint 
meetings for delivering lectures upon the facts, doctrines, and 
duties of the Scriptures, which they invite aU the natives to at- 
tend, and also meetings for discussion in which they invite all 
to take a part. These meetings are often w^ell attended. In 
some instances they have been continued once or twice a week 
for months and years, and the natives have often exhibited in- 
terest, zeal, and abihty in the discussions. On such occasions 
they make a free use of the works of infidel writers, and the 
sneers, cavils, and arguments of deists in Europe and America 
are reproduced in India, to be there again answered and re- 
futed. 

The same class has also to a great extent the management 
and control of the native press in India. In their journals much 
appears of an infidel and scurrilous nature against Christianity, 
in perverted and distorted statements of its doctrines and du- 
ties, of its principles and its precepts, of the conduct and charac- 
ter of its professors, and of the ways and means used for propa- 
gating it. To counteract the influence of such attacks and 
statements, missionaries and friends of the missionary cause 
publish and support journals containing correct statements of 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 583 

Christian doctrines, expositions of Scripture, religious intel- 
ligence, etc. 

The following facts show the state of the native mind in 
India. The proprietor and editor of one of the oldest, best sup- 
ported, and most ably managed newspapers in Bombay, some 
time ago expressed his views of the state of religion among all 
classes, and suggested what course should be pursued. After 
inserting two or three articles in his paper to prepare the minds 
of his readers, he said it was obvious to all that the state of re- 
ligion was very sad and becoming worse, that all classes of peo- 
ple appeared to have lost all confidence in their sacred books ; 
that Christians do not beheve in their Bible, for they do not 
keep the Sabbath, many of them are intemperate, etc, ; that the 
Jews, the Mohammedans, the Hindus, and the Zoroastrians do 
not believe in their respective sacred books, because if they do, 
they would not do so many things which are forbidden, and ne- 
glect to do so many that are commanded. He then proceeded 
to say that the sacred books of ah. these different classes of peo- 
ple may have been of divine origin, and when first given they 
may have been adapted to the then state and ckcumstances of 
the people, and have been very useful, but that they had become 
unsuitable to the present advanced state of knowledge and im- 
proved state of society, and that none of these sacred books 
could ever again have the confidence of their people, and be- 
come the rule of their faith and practice, and that if people 
should continue as they are, without any system of religion 
or standard of moral conduct, they would become worse and 
worse, and at length become depraved beyond recovery or en- 
durance. He then suggested that a religious convention be 
held in Bombay, and that each class of people send a delegation 
of their learned and devout men with copies of thek sacred 
books, and that the men of this convention should prepare from 
all these sacred books a shastra suited to the present state of 
the world, and adapted to aU classes of people, and he expressed 
his behef that a shastra thus prepared and recommended would 
soon be generally adopted. In his next paper he proceeded 
to mention some of the doctrines which such a shastra should 
contain, and among these he said it should inculcate the exist- 
ence of only one God, and the worship of him without any 



584 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

kind of idol or material symbol ; and then he would have no 
distinctions of caste, which he thought was one of the great evUs 
and absurd things in the Hindu rehgion. 

Now these opinions and suggestions are chiefly remarkable, 
as exhibiting the state of the native mind. It is unnecessary to 
say that they are entnely subversive of Hinduism, involving the 
rejection of its sacred books as well as of its peculiar rites and 
its most cherished practices. The writer of these articles for 
the public was a respectable and well-educated Hindu, who had 
not renounced the principles or the practices of his hereditary 
faith, nor the rules of caste, and yet we see what a system of 
religion he was prepared to profess, if all the community would 
do the same. He was proprietor as well as editor of his paper, 
and so he had much interest in sustaining its popularity and in- 
creasing its circulation. Indeed, I was told that he had but 
little property besides his paper, and that he relied chiefly upon 
it for his support. He knew the state of religious opinion 
among the Hindus, and he was well assured that such opinions 
and suggestions would not be to the prejudice of his character, 
nor to the injury of his paper. 

Now this man, the readers of his paper and the circle of his 
acquaintance show the state of hundreds and thousands in In- 
dia, who are dissatisfied with the Hindu religion, and having no 
confidence in it would gladly embrace something more reason- 
able, more easily practised, and which they hope would exert a 
better influence upon society and the state and character of their 
nation. But they are not prepared to incur the reproach, the 
family and social troubles, and in some cases the loss of prop- 
erty, which would follow a renunciation of their ancestral faith 
and the rules of caste. And so they continue to be Hindus in 
name and profession, but sceptics in heart and libertines in prac- 
tice, so far as they can be without reproach, persecution, loss of 
character and property. 

It is now gome years since a spirit of infidehty and scepticism 
began to take strong hold of the ediicated native mind in India. 
This spuit was first manifested in Calcutta, Madras, and Bom- 
bay, and it is maldng progress in aU the large cities. Some 
persons when first awakened and enlightened to see the false- 
hood and absurdity of Hinduism, have continued their inquiries 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 585 

with more or less earnestness till they embraced Christianity in 
the fuU conviction of its being the only system of divine revela- 
tion. But many others have passed from a conviction of this 
falsehood of the Hindu rehgion into a state of scepticism and 
indifference to aU religion, unless when the progress of Chris- 
tianity now and then rouses them to oppose it 

There is yet another class of the native population which 
owes its origin to the influence of Christianity and other causes 
cooperating with it to change the religion of the country. They 
profess a system of reformed Huiduism. This class or sect orig- 
inated many years ago, and for a while there were strong expec- 
tations that it would spread and have great influence upon the 
moral and intellectual character of the Hindus. Ram Mohun 
Roy, whose opinions and writings once excited much interest in 
America, was the principal agent in originating this Society, and 
in sustaining it while he lived. After his decease (which occur- 
red in England in 1831), the Society decHned, and for some 
years was apparently extinct. It was however resuscitated in 
1839, and has been continued. The sect or denomination is not 
large, but it consists generally of men of inteUigence, influence, 
and wealth. How far their efforts to reform the Hindu religion 
will succeed, and what form they will assume, remains to be 
seen.* 

In the brief history and description of India, contained in this 
work, we have seen that the inhabitants for many centuries pro- 
fessed various forms of heathenism, as demonolatry, brahminism, 
and budhism. — That while professing these forms of religion, 
though they made progress in civilization, and their country be- 
came populous and wealthy, they yet made no progress in the 
knowledge of the true God, nor in any reasonable way of wor- 
shipping Him, " but became vain in their imaginations, and 
their foohsh heart was darkened; professing themselves to be 
wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorrup- 
tible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to 
bhds, and to four-footed beasts, and to creeping things."! — That 
the Mohammedans with the avowed object of converting the 
Hindus to their faith, invaded and overran the country, sub- 

* For a more particular account of this Society, see Appendix D. 
t Romans 1 : 21-23. 



586 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

dued the people, and used various means to effect their con- 
version. — That having been the predominant power in India for 
7 or 8 centuries, their great empire fell to pieces, leaving nine 
tenths of the inhabitants still professing the religion of their 
ancestors. — That the time having arrived in the progress of 
maritime discovery and national intercourse, when the power 
and civilization of Europe must come into conflict with the 
power and civiKzation of the southern countries of Asia, the 
struggle for European ascendency and empire in India was be- 
tween the EngHsh and the French — the former prospectively rep- 
resenting Protestantism with its civil and religious Hberty, and 
the latter prospectively representing Romanism with its despo- 
tism and intolerance. — That in this great and long-continued 
struggle, the English were finally victorious, and from that time 
they have been extending then* dominions and consolidating 
their power, till their Indian empire now holds the first place 
among the nations of Asia, and contains 100,000,000 of people. 
— That the Enghsh have suppressed many barbarous customs 
of heathenism and cruel rites of superstition, which had been 
long practised among the inhabitants. — That they have opened 
the country to the introduction and spread of Christianity. — 
That they have estabhshed the freedom of the pressj and enacted 
laws securing equal rights and civil and religious liberty for aU 
classes of people. 

We have seen that the Romanists made long and vigorous 
efforts to introduce and propagate their religion, but without 
the success they expected. — That the different Protestant 
churches of Europe and America have entered vigorously upon 
the work of evangelizing the inhabitants. — That in removing 
difficulties, in creating means for acquiring the languages of the 
people, in making translations of the Scriptures, in preparing a 
Christian literature, in promoting general and special education, 
in preparing a native missionary agency, and in preaching the 
Gospel and gathering converts into churches — that in all these 
various ways, missionaries have done a great work, and that 
they and all the churches connected with them have reason, in 
view of the history and of the present state and prospect of this 
cause, to thank God and to take courage. 

The future of India is to us unknown. But whatever may be 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 587 

its political state and relations, we believe that it will one day 
become a province of the kingdom of Emmanuel. How soon 
it will become such, and what changes are to take place before 
it shall be included in the dominions of the Prince of Peace, we 
know not. How different has been the history of Christianity 
in all the countries of Christendom from what at different times 
was expected ? How would the primitive Christians have been 
astonished, had any one speaking by the spirit of prophecy told 
them what would be the history of Christianity in aU the coun- 
tries where they were living ? And how incredulous they would 
have been, had any one not inspired then expressed opinions of 
the future state of Christianity in those countries, corresponding 
to what has been its true state and history. 

And whether the progress of Christianity in India is to be 
steadily onward tUl it shall supplant Hinduism, Mohammedan- 
ism, and other forms of error, and become the religion of the 
country ; or Romanism is yet to revive, to put forth its power, 
renew its policy, and increase its votaries through the land ; or 
the Mohammedans are to become animated with the spirit of 
proselytism, and attempt to accomplish by persuasion and 
policy what they failed to effect by force and power ; or some 
reformed and philosophical system of Hinduism is to take the 
place of the present popular but absurd superstition ; or general 
scepticism in respect to aU revelation and indifference to aU re- 
ligion is to spread through the country ; or some new form of 
error and delusion is yet to appear and for a whUe prevail ; — 
these things are now beyond human knowledge. And happUy 
our duty does not depend upon our knowing them. " Secret 
tilings belong to the Lord, but things which are revealed," 
whether in the word or in the providence of God, " belong to us." 
The history of the world from the days of the Apostles has 
never exhibited a more inviting and a more encouraging field 
for missionary enterprise than India now is. Should the masses 
of the Hindu population, through the progress of education and 
other causes, become excited and convinced of the falsehood 
and folly of the popular superstitions, and at the same time the 
Mohammedans and Romanists become animated with a spirit 
of proselytism, it is painful to contemplate what might be the 
results. Thus whether we loolc at the present state or not im- 



588 INDIA, ANCIENT AND MODEEN. 

probable contingencies of India, it is obvious that a great in- 
crease of the present missionary force is urgently required, and 
it is in the power as weU as the duty of Christians to furnish it. 
A reference to the tables (pages 538, 539) which exhibit the state 
of the missions in India and Ceylon, will show that only one 
fifth part of this missionary force is from America, and that five 
sixths of it is from Europe. Now this is a much less proportion 
than is generally supposed in this country, and much less than 
we ought to have. 

The following statement and appeal of the venerable Bishop 
of Calcutta to the people of England, is equally deserving the 
consideration of Christians in the United States : — 

" What can exceed the inviting prospect which India pre- 
sents ? The fields white for the harvest, and awaiting the hand 
of the reaper! Nations bursting the intellectual sleep of 30 
centuries! Superstitions no longer in the giant strength of 
youth, but doting to their fall ! Britain placed at the head of 
the most extensive empire ever consigned to a western sceptre: 
that is, the only great power of Europe, professing the Protes- 
tant faith, intrusted with the thronging nations of Asia, whom 
she alone could teach ! A paternal government employing 
every year of tranquillity in elevating and blessing the people, 
unexpectedly thrown upon its protection. No devastating 
plague, as in Egypt; no intestine wars ; no despotic heathen 
or Mohammedan dominion prowling for its prey. But legisla- 
tion going forth with her laws ; science lighting her lamp ; educa- 
tion scattering the seeds of knowledge ; commerce widening her 
means of intercourse ; the British power ever ready to throw her 
SBgis of protection around the pious and discreet missionary. 

" O where are the first propagators and professors of Chris- 
tianity ? Where are our martyrs and reformers ? Where are 
the ingenuous, devoted, pious sons of our Universities ? WHiere 
are our younger devoted clergy? Are they studying their 
ease ? Are they resolved on a ministry, tame, ordinary, and " 
agreeable to the flesh ? Are they drivelling after mmute 
literature, poetry, fame ? Do they shrink from that toil and 
labor, which, as Augustine says, our Commander, noster Impera- 
tor, accounts most blessed ? Let us unite in removing miscon- 
ceptions ; let us join in appealing to Societies ; let us write to 



CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 589 

particular friends, and to public bodies ; let us afford correct in- 
telligible information. Let us send specific and individual invi- 
tations ; and let us ' pray the Lord of the harvest that he would 
send forth more laborers into his harvest.' " 

In view of the state of India and the other oriental countries, 
where God has been preparing the nations for the kingdom of 
the Redeemer, we may use the subKme prayer of the greatest 
of the Englifsh poets : — 

" Come forth out of thy royal chambers, O Prince of all the 
kings of the earth, put on the visible robes of thy imperial Maj- 
esty; take up that unlimited sceptre which thy Almighty 
Father hath bequeathed thee, for now the voice of thy Bride 
caUs thee, and all creatures sigh to be renewed." * 

Our encouragement for making such supplications, and our 
assm-ance that our petitions are in accordance with the purposes 
of Jehovah, are found in many declarations of his Word, Mke 
the following : — 

" From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, 
my name shaU be great among the GentUes ; and in every place 
incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; 
for my name shall be great among the GentUes, saith the Lord 
of Hosts." t 

And now in view of these promises, and of what we have 
seen and expect to see of their fulfilment, we close in the 
words of the Psalmist: — 

" Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth 
wondrous things ; and blessed be his glorious name forever and 
ever ; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory ; Amen, and 
Amen." :|: 

* Milton's Works, p. 64. f MalacH, 1 ch., 1 1 v. 

J Psalm 72,v.l8,19. 

50 



APPENDIX. 



A. — p. 357. 

The State and Prospects of the English Language in India; read at a meet- 
ing of the American Oriental Society in New Haven, Octoier 26, 1853. 
By D. O. Allen, D. D., Missionary of the American Board in India. 

The English language is our interitance, and we expect to transmit it to our 
posterity. This inheritance, enriched as it is "with the science and literature of 
the English nation for many centuries, -we have reason to value very highly, 
and we naturally feel an interest in its extension in the world. It appears from 
the designs of Providence as developed in the course of events, that English is 
to be the language generally used in North America, and that in a few genera- 
tions it will be vernacular over a larger part of the world and among a larger 
population than has ever yet used a common language. The state and pros- 
pects of North America, the extensive colonial possessions of England and her 
great and increasing dominions in southern Asia, are reasons for believing that 
the English language is hereafter to exert an influence in the world far beyond 
any other language, ancient or modern. To some this prospect has appeared so 
pleasing and gratifying that they are cherishing the opinion that the English 
langucige will be everj-where generally understood, and at a late public anniver- 
sary a popular orator chose for his subject — " The English the future universal 
language." 

A large part — probably more than three fourths — of the population subject 
to the English government, live in India, and the English possessions in south- 
ern Asia appear likely to be yet further extended. It becomes therefore an 
interesting question, how far are these conquests likely to extend the knowledge 
and use of the English language in those countries ? In examining this ques- 
tion, several facts and circumstances require to be taken into consideration. 

1. The state of those countries when they became subject to the English Gov- 
ernment. India and the other countries of southern Asia in which the English 
power has been, or appears likely to be, established and perpetuated, have been 
long reckoned among civilized nations. For many centuries — probably for 
more than two thousand years — they had regular governments, and their his- 
tory embraces dynasties of powerful kings and emperors. For centuries they 

(591) 



592 APPENDIX. 

have contained a large population, and they have well formed and some of them 
highly polished languages. They have some science, and the Sanscrit and Ta- 
mul languages especially have much literature, ancient and modern, sacred and 
profane, which they hold in great veneration, and to which they are strongly 
attached. In these respects the inhabitants of India and the other countries of 
southern Asia differ much from the aborigines of America, as well as of the 
islands of the Pacific and of Australia, where the inhabitants were comparatively 
few in number and scattered over a great extent of country, having no Avritten 
language and no literature of any kind, with few of the comforts and conven- 
iences and none of the arts and luxuries of civilized nations. To the conquer- 
ors of people of this character and in these circumstances, it appeared easier to 
communicate a knowledge of their own language than to acquire the languages 
of so many different uncivilized tribes, and then reduce them to system and 
order, and so make them a proper medium of communication for a Christian 
and civilized people. 

2. Another means by which nations have extended their language with their 
power, has been by emigration to the conquered countries and permanent settle- 
ment in them. But in tropical climates the European constitution cannot endure 
the out-door labor, which is requisite in order to carry on the various necessary 
occupations of life. This is an established fact. The efforts of the Portuguese, 
the Spanish, and the Dutch to found colonies in different parts of southern 
Asia, and in eastern and western Africa, with the expectation that they would 
becomeself-perpetuating and increasing communities, and retain the complexion, 
language, religion, customs, and manners of their respective nations, have proved 
to be failures. Such colonies, in all instances, soon began to deteriorate. Some 
of them, of which great hopes were entertained, have become extinct, and in 
other places they have mingled with the Indigenous population of the country, 
and are becoming assinillated to them in circumstances and character. The con- 
quests of the English in southern Asia were subsequent to those of the nations 
above mentioned, and so, having the advantage of their experience, they have 
never attempted to found any colonies in their Asiatic possessions. The very 
low price of labor in all those countries is also one of the causes which have 
prevented emigration to them from England. Europeans could not subsist 
upon the common rate of wages in those countries, without adopting, to a great 
extent, the habits and customs of the inhabitants in respect to food, clothing, 
houses, etc. ; and to do this would soon prove destructive to health and life. For 
these reasons, the English have never emigrated to any of their possessions in 
southern Asia so as to form any self-perpetuating community. Nor is it likely 
they will ever form any community there, which will use the English as their 
vernacular language. All classes of people who go from England to those 
countries, whether to engage in the service of the government, or for pursuits of 
private enterprise, intend at some future time to return to England, or go to 
some other congenial climate for their permanent home. Many situations can 
be filled only by those who have acquired a knowledge of one or two native 
languages, and who have shoAvn their qualifications by examinations before 
committees appointed for this purpose ; and Europeans generally learn enough 
of the language in use where they are, to hold communication with the people 



APPENDIX. 593 

in matters of business and in social and official intercourse. The native lan- 
guage thus becomes the medium of communication between the European and 
the native population ; and it soon becomes as natural for Europeans to use the 
native language, in their intercourse with the people of the country, as it is for 
them to use the English language in' their intercourse with the people of their 
own nation. Still, some natives acquire a colloquial knowledge of English, by 
hearing it used, and by using it in intercourse with Europeans before they have 
acquired any native language, and with some who are only transient residents 
in the country. The number of this class of natives is small, their pronuncia- 
tion of English is bad, their use of it is ungrammatical, often scarcely intelligi- 
ble, and their knowledge of it is very limited. From these statements and re- 
marks it will be apparent that the people of India generally have not so many 
means and opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of the English language in 
connection with the government, or In matters of business, or in social inter- 
course, as might be naturally expected and have been generally supposed. 

3. The languages of conquering nations have sometimes spread in their ac- 
quired possessions by intermarriages and a mixture of the nations or races. It 
was so with some nations which obtained possession of countries composing parts 
of the Roman empire. But the English language is not likely to spread much 
in India in this manner. Europeans differ so much and in so many ways from 
the inhabitants of the country, that intermarriages to any considerable extent 
are not likely ever to take place between them. In most places where Eu- 
ropeans have lived for any considerable time in southern Asia, there are some 
of a mixed race ; and in India this class of people generally understand the 
English, and also some native language in use where they live. But this class 
is not large, nor are they likely to become numerous. They have not now, nor 
do they appear likely to acquire, a high social position, nor to exert much politi- 
cal influence. The name by which they are now generally known, is Indo- 
Brlton. Some recent researches and statistics in connection mth the renewal 
of the East India Company's charter by Parliament, do not exhibit this class of 
people in so favorable a state in respect to number, character, and prospects as 
was generally expected. 

4. Another and yet more important cause affecting the state and prospects of 
the English language in India, is the regulations and policy of the government. 
In the Supreme Courts of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, the English language 
is used. But the jurisdiction of these Courts is limited to the above-mentioned 
cities and to such Europeans in other parts of the country as are not subject to 
military law. Much of the business in these Courts is transacted through inter- 
preters. In the public offices also in these cities, the business, in its summary 
and written forms, is generally transacted and the records are kept, in the Eng- 
lish language ; and the work of this kind furnishes employment for many per- 
sons, as translators, copyists, etc. Hence a knowledge of English becomes a 
necessary qualification for employment in these offices. The situations (as they 
are called) in them are generally filled by natives of the country. But their 
knowledge of English is often very imperfect, being limited to the mere routine 
of business, while they seldom if ever use it in their families, or in social inter- 

50* 



594 APPENDIX. 

course, or In matters of business with their countrymen. In the seaports of 
southern Asia, the English language is used in correspondence, accounts, etc., in 
the European mercantile houses ; and a considerable number of natives who 
understand English more or less, are thus employed. But the European mer- 
chants are a changing class of the population, and only a small part of the prop- 
erty and commerce of these cities is in their hands. When one leaves the lai'ge 
seaports, the business of all kinds with the native population and among them 
is found to be transacted in the language of their respective provinces. Whether 
in the political, or the military, or the financial, or the judicial departments, all 
business is transacted in the languages of the counti-y, and the English language 
is only used by Europeans in their social intercourse, and in their business 
transactions with each other and with the government. 

From the origin of the English power in India the importance of having 
some one language for general use through the country, has been a subject of 
much consideration and inquiry, and has engaged the attention of many learned 
men in the employment of the government, and of others connected with the 
cause of education and Christianity. The Mohammedan princes and emperors, 
who governed India for several centuries, retained the Persian language in use 
among themselves and in official transactions. The English, following the 
example of their predecessors, used the Persian in the courts and in their 
official transactions in Bengal and northern India for several years, and some 
learned men in government employment were of the opinion that it should be 
retained, and means be used to make it the common language of the country. 
Under the Mohammedan sovereigns, the Hindustanee became the common me- 
dium of intercourse among the great body of people professing their faith, and 
it made some progress among the Hindu population. Hindustanee may be 
called the military language of India. It is easily acquired for colloquial pur- 
poses, and is more used than any other by Europeans in their intercourse with 
the native population. For these reasons, some have been of the opinion that 
all lawful and proper means should be used to extend it, and make It the general 
language of all classes of people. Some have set forth the claims of the San- 
scrit to become the general language of India, and some have been of the opin- 
ion that English — the language of the governing power of the country — 
should become the general language, and that the influence of the government 
in its official transactions, and in the patronage it bestows on education, should 
be directed to this end. 

Each of these different languages has had able and learned advocates for its 
being made the lingua franca of India ; but there are so many objections and 
obstacles in the way, that no one of them is likely to be adopted, or to secure 
much influence or effort for extending it. The need of any such general lan- 
guage, though experienced by Europeans who are often changing their places 
of residence, is not felt to much extent by the native population. Those living 
in the rural districts and villages, have seldom occasion to use any but their ver- 
nacular tongue, and those who live in the cities, easily acquire knowledge 
enough of the languages there used to ti-ansact their necessary business. To 
the educated natives of India the idea or plan of making any one language su- 



APPENDIX. 595 

persede those now in use, and so become the common language of the whole 
country, would appear as unreasonable, as it would appear to the educated peo- 
ple of Europe, were it proposed to select some language, as the English, or the 
French, or the German, and endeavor to make it supersede all the others, and 
so become the general and common language of all the people of Europe. In- 
deed, such a plan in India would in some respects ajjpear more unreasonable, as 
the languages there have each generally its distinct and different alphabet. 
More extensive and accurate knowledge of the people and literature of India 
will show that the number of distinct languages is not so great as has been gen- 
erally supposed — that some, which have been enumerated as different languages, 
are merely dialects, and of Umited use. Some of these dialects will gradually 
disappear. The opinion which, after much discussion and consideration in the 
different Boards of Education, now generally prevails, is that it is not expedient 
to use any means with a view of making any one language common or general 
through the country — that the people of different parts of India who have dis- 
tinct and well formed languages, as the Tamul, the Canarese, the Telugu, the 
Mahratta, the Gujeratee, the Bengalee, used each by a population of from seven 
or eight to twelve or fifteen millions, should retain each its own language, and 
that suitable and needed works on religion, science, and literature, either original 
or translated, should be prepared and printed, as soon as practicable, in the dif- 
ferent languages. In this work of preparing such a native literature, very en- 
couraging progress has been made in several languages. 

We are now to consider the state and prospects of the English language in 
India as it is affected by education. From the commencement of the English 
power in India, a knowledge of both the English and native languages has been 
a valuable and important qualification for business, and so this acquisition has 
been an object of desire and exertion. The low price of labor in all southern 
Asia, compared with what it is in England, must always have made it pecunia- 
rily an object for the English to employ the natives of the country in all kinds 
of work or business for which they could be found, or could become, qualified. 
And when the power of the English became permanently established, it was 
for their interest to encourage the acquisition of their language by the natives, 
that they might become qualified for service in the various departments of busi- 
ness. And as the power and dominions of the English have gradually increased 
from a few factories, or trading establishments, to the supremacy of India and 
the general control over a hundred and fifty millions of people, so there has 
been a constantly increasing demand for persons qualified for business by their 
knowledge of the English language. And as such qualifications were not com- 
mon, and could not be acquired without much study and time, they have been 
generally well remunerated for their service. Every increase of the British 
dominions created more situations for which a knoAvledge of the English lan- 
guage vras an indispensable qualification, and so there has been a constantly in- 
creasing demand for English education. Under the native governments, all 
situations were filled by natives, but as these provinces have come successively 
under the English government, all the more honorable and highly remunerating 
places have been filled by Europeans, and only those of the second or third rate 



596 APPENDIX. 

are given to tlie natives. This change in the political state of the country, and 
the consequent proceedings of the governing power they feel very much, both 
in its humiliating influence upon their chai'acter and its impoverishing effect 
upon their circumstances ; and many of them endeavor to acquire a knowledge 
of the English language in the hope that it wiR in some way be a qualification 
for business, or a recommendation for employment. 

The educational institutions in which the English language is taught in India 
are of three kinds. 

1. Private schools, or those which are supported by tuition. There have 
been several such in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. They have been sup- 
ported chiefly by the higher classes of the native population, and many persons 
have been educated in them. 

2. Schools connected with missionary and other benevolent societies. At 
most of the large missionary stations are schools of this character. Some of 
these have a large number of scholars, and good means of instruction. The 
primary object of such schools is moral and Scriptural education, with a view 
to prepare such persons, when educated, to become Christian teachers, catechists, 
and preachers among their countrymen. But these schools are generally open 
for all classes of people on such terms as induce Hindus and Mohammedans, as 
well as professed Christians, to become connected with them. Many who were 
Hindus and Mohammedans when they first entered these schools, became con- 
vinced, in the course of their education, of the truth of the Christian religion, 
publicly professed their faith in it, and are now in the employment of IVIission- 
ary Societies, preaching the Gospel to their own people. Some of these are 
well educated, every way respectable in talents and character, and very useful 
in the work of promoting Christianity in India. 

3. Schools supported by the government. The government, in its various 
departments, has occasion to employ a great number of people, and it is neces- 
sary, in order to fill particular situations and for the performance of some pecu- 
liar kinds of service, that a part of those to be employed should understand the 
English language. For this purpose the government appropriates very consid- 
erable sums from the revenues of the country to education, and the high schools 
contain means and facilities for learning English. The course of study in the 
English department of these schools is sufficient for acquiring a good knowledge 
of the language, and obtaining a very considerable acquaintance with Its science 
and literature. Many who commence the study of English, finding it more dif- 
ficult of acquisition than they expected, or not seeing so much prospect of em- 
ployment as they had hoped for at first, become discouraged and abandon it. 
Many also acquire just knowledge enough of the language to converse in slow, 
familiar, and set phraseology, but not enough to iise it easily and fluently, nor to 
understand it when so used by others, nor to read newspapers and common 
books with ease and intelligence. Such persons use the language no more than 
is necessary. They seldom attempt to read an English book, or to improve 
their knowledge of the language after leaving school. Indeed, many of them, 
when they succeed in obtaining employment, regard their object in acquiring 
the language as accomplished, and so retain only what they have occasion to 



APPENDIX. 



597 



use as copyists, accountants, etc. But in these schools, some, though but a small 
part of those -who commence the study of the language, acquire a correct use 
of it, become able to converse in it with ease and propriety, and obtain consid- 
erable knowledge of English science and literature. Yet even this class never, 
so far as I have known, use the English language in their families, and very sel- 
dom in any social intercourse or transactions of business, unless with Europeans. 

The vernacular languages of India contain but little science or literature of 
any value, and something more than these languages contain is required for 
mental discipline and practical knowledge, in the course of education. The 
Sanscrit is closely connected with the languages now used in the country and 
has much ancient literature. But however useful the study of it may be for 
discipline of mind, and with reference to philology, ethnography, and other ob- 
jects of antiquarian research, it contains but little practical science, or authen- 
tic history, or correct religious doctrine, and Is nowhere now a vernacular lan- 
guage. In these circumstances, when education is to be extended beyond any 
vernacular language, the English — the language of the governing power of the 
country, with all its science and literature, and especially Its numerous and ex- 
cellent works on moral and religious subjects — has the first claims to attention. 

In America and Europe the professions of theology, law, and medicine, fur- 
nish the great field of employment for the educated classes. These professions 
are equally open to all, and they require a large part — generally a majority — • 
of those who obtain a collegiate or liberal education, to fill them. But these 
professions scarcely yet exist among the native population of India. There, 
educated men, who must engage in some business for support (and there are 
very few who are not in this state), generally look to the government for ser- 
vice, or to teaching, as their employment. In the altered political state and 
relations of the country — all the more honorable and lucrative situations being 
filled by Europeans — the higher classes of the native population find It exceed- 
ingly difficult to obtain any suitable occupation and means of respectable sup- 
port, and so they naturally turn their thoughts to the study of the English 
language, in the hope that it will prove a qualification for business, or a reconor 
mendatlon for employment. This desire to learn English has been increasing 
for some years past, and probably the number now engaged in acquiring it, is 
three times as large as it was fifteen or twenty years ago. But, even at the 
present time, many who become thus educated, find it very difficult, and some 
find it impossible, to obtain such employment as they expected. The supply of 
such educated talent is increasing faster than the demand, and it will not be 
many years before the principal motives In which this strong desire for English 
education had its origin, will cease, or at least will exert less influence than they 
have had for some years past. 

From the view which has been taken of the state of the English language In 
India, or southern Asia, it appears : That England has not founded, and Is not 
likely to found, any colonies in any of those countries, and that there is no na- 
tive community', nor any class of people, except the Indo-Britons, who use Eng- 
lish as their vernacular language. — That the English people who go to India, 
expect to reside there only for a limited time, and then to go to some more con- 



598 APPENDIX. 

genial climate. — That while in India they generally learn enough of the native 
languages for social and official intercourse with the native population, and that 
the business of the government is chiefly transacted in the languages of the 
country. It also appears : That the English language is used in the Supreme 
Courts of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay ; and that in some of the government 
offices and mercantile houses, in the same cities, many natives more or less edu- 
cated in the English language find employment. — That naany among the native 
population have a strong desire to learn English, and are now engaged in the 
study of it, in private, missionary, and government schools and colleges. — That, 
of those who begin this study, many do not acquire sufficient knowledge for any 
practical purpose, and only a small part of them learn it thoroughly. — That 
when English education among the native population shall exceed the demand 
for it as a qualification for employment, then one of the principal motives for 
acquiring it will cease, and the desire now so strong will exert much less influ- 
ence. — That the education of the great body of the people will always be in 
their respective vernacular languages, and that those languages will be improved 
and enriched by works of science and literature original and translated, in 
which encouraging progress has been made. — That the English language, in- 
cluding its science and literature, will generally be a branch of education in the 
high schools and colleges ; and all who aspire to a liberal education, will be ex- 
pected to have some knowledge of it. But that the English is not likely in any 
part of India or southern Asia to supersede the native languages, nor to become 
vernacular in any large community. 



Appendix B. p. 433. 

The following extract from an able article on Sanscrit literature in the Cal- 
cutta Re^dew, confirms what has been said of its character, and may be interest- 
ing to some who are not acquainted with the language. 

"1. The Sanscrit language contains nothing of genuine Mstory, no national 
annals, no biography of eminent patriots, statesmen, warriors, philosophers, poets, 
or others, who have figured on the theatre of Indian life, public or private. Not 
a single page of pure historical matter unmixed with monstrous and absurd 
fable is extant, or probably was ever written in it. It supplies us with no as- 
sistance whatever in rescuing from eternal oblivion the worthies or the curses of 
past ages. It affords no certain clue to the discovery of even the origin of the 
races who first spoke or adopted it. Fabulous and extravagant legends are all, 
that in this class, it furnishes. European ingenuity, penetration, and persever- 
ance may indeed by dint of hard and continued labor eUcIt a few isolated facts 
here and there, and comparison of dates and circumstances, rejecting the crudi- 
ties and absurdities that have gathered round them, bring them to bear upon 
some point of ancient story, yet in the depths of obscurity. But nothing is cer- 
tain ; all Is only a happy guess or probable inference at best. The very princi- 
ple of historic narration appears either never to have entered into the minds of 



APPENDIX. 599 

tlie early writers in this language, or else a base and selfish policy led them to 
falsify and obscure and mysticize all events in order to conceal their own usur- 
pations, violence, and injustice. 

2. Sanscrit literature presents us with nothing of geographical or statistical 
science. The true theory of the earth is not to be traced in it. Seas of milk, 
and curds, and spirit, and butter, and sugar-cane juice, with mountains 256,000 
miles high bearing trees 8,000, or 9,000 mUes tall ; seas and continents ranged 
in succession round a central nucleus or navel, Uke the peels of an onion and 
other similar extravagancies and fooleries, form the staple of Sanscrit lore on 
those heads. 

3. Cosmogony and geological science are precisely in the same condition of 
driveUing and hopeless allegory, out of which nothing can be drawn useful to 
any purpose under heaven. 

4. Of natural history, the philosophy of nature and mechanical science (as^ 
tronomy and geometry partially excepted), tlie Sanscrit exhibits nothing what- 
ever ; all is either impossible fable, or when natural and true, trivial, unscientific, 
and unarranged. 

5. Hindu medical science is at zero. Empiricism rules the day. Anatomy is 
unknown. Pharmacy is Httle more than a knowledge of simples, united with 
absurd quackery. 

6. The music of the Hindus is in an extremely backward state. A fantastic 
association with an ideal superstition has served with other causes to hinder its 
advancement as a science. As an art too, Hindu music is singularly rude ; it 
knows nothing of harmony or counterpart. The Sanscrit musical shastras are 
numerous but of small value. 

7. The same is the case with the other fine arts, as painting, architecture, and 
statuary. Books upon them are few and unimportant in character. 

8. On the mechanical arts or handicrafts there are no express treatises ; on 
some of them a few precepts of ordinary practice occur, as also on agriculture, 
etc., in general writings. Nothing in short can well be conceived poorer than 
Sanscrit literature in all the most important scientific or practical departments 
of knowledge. There is positively nothing to serve any other purpose of the 
European student but a not unnatural curiosity. 

9. In every branch of experimental science or natural philosophy, Sanscrit is 
wholly wanting. The Hindu philosophers were rather poets than strict investi- 
gators of the system of things. They thought much and deeply but were ever 
fonder of chasing the phantoms of a speculative fancy, than of follovring the 
indications of nature. They loved more to indulge in abstraction and ingenious 
theories than to pursue experimental inquiries by a course of rigid induction. 
Their philosophy is therefore the philosophy of fancy, not of reality. It may 
be brilUant, captivating, and acute, ingenious and imposing ; but it is after all, 
empty, impracticable, and useless ; nay more, it is bewildering and injurious ; it 
misleads and effeminates ; it lowers the tone of the mind ; it destroys the moral 
sense ; it lays open to a thousand deceptions and aberrations, and it creates a 
taste which is incapable of relisliing reality or moral truth. 

10. In regard to mental and physical science, Sanscrit is nearly in the same 



600 APPENDIX. 

predicament. Plenty of mental theory indeed there is, but nothing of sound 
and vigorous reasoning ; nothing of rigid analysis or accurate classification of 
mental phenomena. All is dreamy and visionary, fanciful and empirical asser- 
tion. The relation between cause and effect is utterly overlooked. The impos- 
sible and the absurd are treated with the gravity of serious philosophy and a 
positlveness only becoming those who deal in matters of fact. 

11. The same may also be said of pneumatology, or the science of God. The 
psychology of man was never investigated by those who wrote In Sanscrit. The 
true principle of reasoning a posteriori, or from ascertained facts and observed 
phenomena alone, was never understood or adopted by them. They are ever 
afloat on a wide expanse of theory without chart, comj^ass, or rudder; nay, 
without even a polestar to aid their navigation. Of matter and spirit, of mind 
and body, substance and form, nature and accident, indeed much, very much 
has been written, but to vastly Httle purpose notwithstanding. Six philosophical 
schools have put forth as many systems of things more or less symbolizing with 
the ancient systems of Greece and Rome, only with far less of either accuracy 
of investigation or vigor of conception. The Hindu mind has ever delighted in 
day-dreams and reveries ; non-realities have had far more attractions for it than 
actualities ; it has pleased and lost itself in a luxurious Indulgence of an all-ex- 
cursive fancy, that has soared far above all the coarse materialities of the actual 
world. In the history of no people has the scriptural allegation been more 
exactly verified than in that of the Hindus, that " man by wisdom knew not 
God." Not only are they in truth ignorant of God as to any really useful and 
practical purpose of philosophy, rehgion, or morals, but their so-called wisdom 
and beautiful science has itself been the cause of the density and perpetuation 
of that ignorance. They have reasoned or rather theorized, dreamt and dis- 
puted, talked and written of God and nature, matter and spirit, fate and will, 
action and passion, good and evil, till in the multitude of words they have wholly 
lost sight of the objects of inquiry. A blind fatality, a visionary system of un- 
realities, a thoughtless, objectless, passionless, soulless Deity, without qualification, 
without active intelligence or creative energy ; an atheistical theology that iden- 
tifies matter and spirit, God and nature, the human soul and the divine ; a sui- 
cidal philosophy that destroys itself, a denial of the essential differences of things, 
an assertion of the intrinsic indifference of all acts and feelings which makes the 
character of an action depend upon motive of the performance, and the absolute 
dependence of every agent on a superior power — these and similar have been 
the conclusions arrived at by Hindu speculation. The Vedas themselves which 
are asserted to have proceeded immediately from the mouth of God, are a 
strange and heterogeneous assemblage of absurd physics and dreamy metaphys- 
ics, of fanciful philosophy and dreary superstition, of high-sounding invoca- 
tions and petty prayers, of incantations tor the injury or destruction of enemies, 
or the averting of personal evUs, of recipes for sacrifices and the like. In them 
the elements are deified at the same time that the doctrine of the universal soul 
is asserted. These boasted Shastras are stuffed in fact with all manner of puer- 
ilities and inconsistencies, and are evidently a very crude digest as it were, of 
the odds and ends of mutually opposing theories, of airy visions and gross idol- 



APPENDIX. 601 

atrles, containing neither true science, nor true etliics, nor elevated notions of 
God, or of his woi-ks and ways. Meanwhile as to practical religion, the bad 
passions and depraved tastes of effeminate and demoralized society have tbund 
their indulged and characteristic exercise and gratification in an idolatry more 
multiform and grotesque, more absurd and baseless, more cruel and disgusting, 
more corrupting and stupefying, more brutalizing and demoralizing, more inju- 
rious to social liberty, to domestic purity, to private virtue and to universal hap- 
piness than any other that ever existed. — Calcutta Revieio, No. 5, p. 12-14. 

General Vans Kennedy in his learned work on Hindu Mythology, says, — "It 
must be admitted that the sacred Books of the Hindus contain neither geograph- 
ical, nor chronological, nor historical information ; that in them the use of num- 
bers with respect both to time and place is extravagantly absurd, and that in 
the^r style and want of arrangement, they are not only deficient in the beauties 
by which the immortal works of Greece and Rome are distinguished, but even 
err against all principles of refined taste and classical composition." 

In his Viev/ of Hindu Literature, the Rev. W. Ward says of Sanscrit poetry, 
— " It abounds in the. most extravagant metaphors, and the most licentious 
images. Some allowance may be made for eastern manners, but granting every 
possible latitude, innumerable ideas are found in almost every poem which could 
have become famiHar to the imagination only amidst a people, whose country 
was a brothel." Referring to Mr. W.'s opinion the Calcutta Review says, " This 
is strong language, but not too strong. It is impossible for a pure mind not to 
be perpetually shocked and revolted by the undisguised Ucentiousness, as it is 
for correct taste not to be oflFended and disgusted by the outrageous and childish 
extravagance of metaphoric ornaments with which all Hindu poetry is replete." 



'/ 



Appendix C. p. 554. 

POLYGAMY. 

The Calcutta Missionary Conference, consisting of the missionaries ot the dif- 
ferent Societies, which have missionaries In that city and its vicinity, after fre- 
quent consultations and much consideration on the subject of polygamy as it 
exists in India, were unanimous In the following opinions : — 

"1. It is In accordance with the spirit of the Bible and the practice of the 
Protestant Church to consider the State as the proper fountain of legislation in 
aU civil questions affecting marriage and divorce. 

" 2. The Bible being the true standard of morals, ought to be consulted in 
every thing which It contains on the subjects of marriage and divorce, and noth- 
ing determined contrary to its general principles. 

" 3. Married persons being both Christians, should not be divorced for any 
other cause than adultery. But If one of the parties be an unbeliever, and 
though not an adulterer, wilfully depart from and desert the other, a divorce 
may be properly sued for. They were of the opinion, however, that such liberty 

51 



602 APPENDIX. 

is allowable only in extreme cases, and wliere all known means of reconciliation 
after a trial of not less than one year have failed. 

" 4. Heathen and Mohammedan marriages and divorces, recognized by the 
laws of the country, are to be held valid. But it is strongly recommended that 
if either party before conversion have put away the other on slight ground, the 
divorced party should in all practicable and desirable cases, be taken back again. 

" 5. If a convert before becoming a Christian has married more wives than 
one, in accordance with the practice of the Jewish and primitive Christian 
Churches, he shall be permitted to keep them all ; but such a person is not eligi- 
ble to any office in the Church. In no other case is polygamy to be tolerated 
among ChristIans.''_Jf 

The Calcutta Christian Observer has contained at different times some well 
written articles upon these subjects. In a series of ai'ticles some years ago, the 
writer after fully establishing (as he believed) the intrinsic lawfulness of polyg- 
amy as it existed among the Jews of old, and as it now exists among the Hin- 
dus, Mohammedans, and Jews in India, proceeds thus to give his views of it in 
connection with the propagation of Christianity : — 

" The previous lawfulness of polygamy abstractedly considered and the course 
actually adopted by the Almighty for its ultimate subversion suggest a second 
remark, that when a heathen man has been legally married (i. e. according to 
the laws of his own country and religion) to more than one wife, whether any 
distinction of grade or class of wife or concubine, etc., be observed or not, it 
does not appear that any thing in the character of polygamy itself or in the in- 
stitution of Christianity, demands the putting away of any one or more of such 
women. They are his wives ; he has promised them duty of marriage, sitpport, 
and protection. He has no right to diminish aught of their just claims. The 
merciful provision of the law of Moses, in kindred cases, comes in support of 
my position. Exodus 21 : 10, commands, even of a purchased slave whom her 
master has betrothed to himself, that " if he take unto himself another wife, her 
food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish. And to 
apply the case to India : — What may be the precise law of the case I am not 
informed, but assuredly there would be great cruelty and hai'dshlp in a man, 
who becomes a Christian having several wives, dismissing all but one, who, even 
admitting that they may be legally put away, are by the usages of the country 
precluded from marrjing another ; and who, even if the husband continues to 
support them (the difficulty of doing which will certainly be much increased 
when the household is divided), are publicly disgraced and exposed, in deplora- 
ble moral ignorance, weakness, and strength of passion, to very strong tempta- 
tions to pursue evil courses. Again, if there are children, whose shall they be ? 
the father's ? or the mother's ? From one parent or the other they are certainly 
in this case to be separated. Whose control, instruction, Eind affectionate inter- 
course shall they continue to enjoy ? Shall they be held legitimate or other- 
wise? If there are several wives,, which shall be retained? The first, it may 
be replied ; but by what law is she more a wife than the second, or the third ? 
To these difficulties add the strong temptation held out to an Insincere profes- 
sion of Christianity for the mere purpose of getting rid of a wife or wives no 



APPENDIX. . 603 

longer loved, or wliom the husband is weary of supporting, and it appears to 
me that a formidable mass of difficulties is raised against the position combated, 
sufficient to prove it absolutely untenable. Under the plea of a previous un- 
lawfulness supported by no just reasoning and inculcated by no inspired Scrip- 
tures, helpless women legally united to men sacredly engaged to love, support, 
and protect them, are to be ejected from home, from the honors and comforts 
of wifedom and maternity, exposed to fearful temptations, cruel privations and 
self-denial, ignominy and solitariness, suffering a disruption of all the sweet ties 
of domestic intercourse and affection ; the education of children is to be neg- 
lected, their ffiial attachments blighted, and a reward held out to the purest acts 
of injustice, of selfish cruelty and imjoious hypocrisy on the part of husbands 
and fathers. 

" Let no Christian after he has been admitted into the Christian church, add 
unto his wives or support the practice of polygamy, however usual in his nation 
and country. But if already a polygamist, let him live, as the ancient patriarchs 
did, in the holy and faithful fulfilment of all the duties of marriage alike with 
all his wives legally such ; let him not for a moment allow himself to entertain 
the monstrous and unnatural purpose of injuring those he loved and swore to 
love forever — who have lain in his bosom and become the mothers of his chil- 
dren and the partners of his joys and sorrows — by putting them away for no 
original or after fault of theirs upon Jds becoming a Christian. If they indeed 
should desert him, he is absolved by the same rules that apply to the case of a 
single heathen wife or husband voluntarily departing from a partner who has 
become a Christian, for then the act is theirs, not his. ' A brother or a sister is 
not under bondage in such cases.' But short of this, no legitimate ground ap- 
pears to be left for supporting the ground I have thus endeavored to prove un- 
scriptural and untenable. 

" All the Calcutta missionaries, I believe, are firm in the persuasion not only 
that polygamy is highly inexpedient generally, but that it is, as such, a practice 
which the genius and tendency of Christianity are to abohsh ; not however by 
hastilg^ and prematurely cutting off the allowance of it, and in so doing commit- 
ting the greatest injustice against many helpless women, and violating the pure, 
benevolent, and peaceable spirit of Christ's religion, but by gradually elevating 
the human character among the neophytes, spiritualizing and refining its pro- 
fessors, and silently throwing into disuse that which like slavery for instance is 
so ill adapted in many respects to an advanced and cultivated society and to 
maturity of devotion and domestic enjoyment. The missionaries are of opinion 
that the very allowance, which God through Moses made for the Jews in their 
infant state as a people, is by parity of reason to be made now for polygamists, 
who from heathens become Christians ; and they believe moreover that by ' the 
original law of marriage,' it must be as imlawful to abandon one wife as another, 
save for the cause of fornication." — Calcutta Christian Observer, vol. 4, pp. 91, 
371 and 400. 

The writer from whose articles in the Calcutta Christian Observer, these ex- 
tracts are taken, had previously attempted to show that polygamy, as it existed 
among the Jews of old, was morally lawful, and by consequence that it is not 



604 APPENDIX. 

morally wrong among the Jews, the Mohammedans, and the Hindus in modern 
times. The Jews practise polygamy in Mohammedan countries, and I believe 
wherever the laws allow them to do so, and they justify their conduct by refer- 
ence to the examples of it contained in the Old Testament. Mohammed did not 
originate the custom in Arabia, for it had existed there for many centuries, prob- 
ably from the time of the Jewish patriarchs.* He practised it himself and de- 
clared it to be lawful in the Koran. Polygamy has existed among the Hindus 
from an early period, probably as early as the days of Moses. There has been 
a disposition in this country to judge of polygamy, as it exists among Jews, 
Mohammedans, and Hindus, with great severity, and these views and feeUngs 
are likely to have some influence in considering and determining how such per- 
sons should be treated, if they wish to profess Christianity. Now if polygamy- 
was not morally wrong, if the custom even had the divine approbation, among 
the Jews of old, it must follow I believe by consequence, that It is not Intrinsi- 
cally and morally wrong as it exists among the Jews, Mohammedans, and Hin- 
dus ; and if it Is not morally wrong among them, then the continuance of the rela- 
tion (thus previously formed) after they have become Christians and the pei'- 
formance of all the obligations Involved in the relation, cannot be morally wrong. 

To those who have doubts In respect to the Intrinsic moral lawfulness of polyg- 
amy as it existed among the ancient Jews, and who wish further to examine this 
subject, the consideration of the following extracts from a work called " The- 
Lyphtliora" published anonymouslyf many years ago in England, Is recommended. 
The author of this work says : — 

" The best and fairest, and indeed the only way, to get at the truth on this, 
as on every other occasion where religion Is concerned, is to lay aside preju- 
dice, from whatever quarter It may be derived, and to let the Bible speak 
for itself. Then we shall see that polygamy, notwithstanding the seventh com- 
mandment, was allowed by God himself, who, however others might mistake it, 
must Infallibly know his own mind, be perfectly acquainted with his own will, 
and thoroughly understand his own law. K he did not intend to allow polyg- 
amy, but to prevent or condemn It, either by the seventh commandment, or by 
some other law, how Is It possible that he should make laws for Its regulation, 
any more than he should make laws for the regulation of theft or murder ? How 
is It conceivable that he should give the least countenance to It, or so express hia 
approbation as even to ivork miracles In support of It ? For the making a 'wo- 
man fruitful who was naturally barren, must have been the eS'ect of supernatu- 
ral power. He blessed, and in a distinguished manner owned, the issue, and 
declared it legitimate to all Intents and purposes. If this be not allowance, 
what is ? 

" As to the first, namely, his making laws for the regulation of polygamy, let 
us consider what is written in Exo. 21 ; 10. If he (i. e., the husband) take him 
another wife (not, In so doing, he sins against the seventh commandment, re- 
corded In the preceding chapter, but), her food, her raiment, (i. e., of the fii'st 

* Gen. 20 : 2, 5, 17. 26 : 34. 28 : 8, 9. 

t This work, though published anonymously, was generally understood to be written 
by Rev. Martin Madan, Chaplain of the Lock Hospital m London. 



APPENDIX. 605 

•wife), and her duty of marriage, he shall not diminish. Here God positively for- 
bids a neglect^vaxxch. more the divorcing ov putting away the Jirst wife, but charges 
no sin in taking the second. 

" 2dly. When Jacob married Rachel she was barren, and so continued for 
many years ; but God did not leave tliis as a punishment upon her for marrying 
a man who had another wife. It is said. Gen. 30 : 22, that God rememhered 
Rachel ; and God hearkened unto her, and opened her womb, and she conceived 
and bare a son, and said, God hath taken away my reproach. Surely this pas- 
sage of Scripture ought to afford a complete answer to those who bring the 
words of the marriage bond, as cited by Christ, Matt. 19 : 5. — I'hey twain shall 
be one flesh — to prove polygamy sinful, and should lead us to construe them, as 
by this instance and many others the Lawgiver himself appears to have done ; 
that is to say, where a woman, not betrothed to another man, unites herself in 
personal knowledge with the man of her choice, let that man's situation be what 
it may, they twain shall be one flesh. How, otherwise, do we find such a woman 
as Rachel united to Jacob, who had a wife then living, praying to God for a 
blessing on her intercourse with Jacob, and God hearkening unto her, opening 
her womb, removing her barrenness, and thus by miracle taking away her re- 
proach ? We also find the offspring legitimate, and inheritors of the land of 
Canaan ; a plain proof that Joseph and Benjamin were no bastards, or born out 
of lawful marriage.* See a like palpable instance of God's miraculous blessing 
on polygamy in the case of Hannah, 1 Sam. i. and ii. These instances serve 
also to prove that, in God's account, the second marriage is just as valid as the 
first, and as obligatory ; and that our making it less so, is contradictory to the 
Divine wisdom. 

" Mly. God blessed and owned the Issue. How eminently this was the case 
with regard to Joseph, see Gen. 49: 22-26; to Samuel, see 1 Sam. 3: 19. It 
was expressly commanded that a bastard, or son of a woman who was with child 
by whoredom (en nopv^g, LXX.), should not enter into the congregation of the 
Lord, even to his tenth generation (Deut. 23: 2). But we find Samuel, the 
offspring of polygamy, ministering to the Lord in the tabernacle at Shiloh even 
in his very childhood, clothed loith a linen ephod, before Eli the priest. See this 
whole history, 1 Sam. I. and ii. Who, then, can doubt of Samuel's legitimacy, 
and consequently of God's allowance of, and blessing on, polygamy ? If such 
second marriage was, In God's account, null and void, as a sin against the origi- 
nal law of marriage, or the seventh commandment, or any other law of God, no 
mark of legitimacy could have been found on the issue ; for a null and void mar- 
riage is tantamount to no marriage at all ; and if no marriage, no legitimacy of 
the Issue can possibly be. Instead of such a blessing as Hannah obtained, we 

* If polygamy was unlawful, then Leah was the only wife of Jacob, and none but her 
children were legitimate. Eachel as well as Bilhah and Zilpah were merely mistresses and 
their children 6 in number were bastards, the offspring of aduUermis connection. And yet 
there is no intimation of any such views and feelings in Laban's famil}', or in Jacob's 
family, or in Jewish history. Bilhah and Zilpah are called Jacob's wives (Gen. 37: 2), 
God honored the sons of Eachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah equally with the sons of Leah, made 
them the patriarchs of 7 of the tribes of the nation, and gave them equal inheritance in 
Canaan. — D. 0. A. 

51* 



606 APPENDIX. 

should have found her and her husband Elkanah charged with adultery, dragged 
forth, and stoned to death; for so was adultery to be punished. All this furnishes 
us with a conclusive proof, that the having more than one wife with which a 
man cohabited, was not adultery in the sight of God ; or, in other words, that it 
never was reckoned by him any sin against the seventh commandment, or the 
original marriage institution, or any other law whatsoever. 

'■^ AtUy. But there is a passage (Deut. 21 : 15) which is express to the point, 
and amounts to a demonstration of God's allowance of polygamy. If a man 
have TWO wives, one beloved and another hated, and they have home him chil- 
dren, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-horn he hers that was hated, 
then it shall he, when he maheth his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may 
not make the son of the beloved first-horn before the son of the hated, which is, 
indeed, the first-horn, hy giving him a double portion of all that he hath ; for he is 
the beginning of his strength, and the right of the first-born is his. On the footing 
of this law, the marriage of both women is equally lawful. God calls them both 
wives (for so the word Q'^IZJ!] must be rendered in this place, as the context 
plainly shows), and he cannot be mistaken ; if he calls them so, they certainly 
were so. If the second wife bore the first son, that son was to inherit before a 
son born afterwards of the^rsi wife. Here the issue is expressly deemed legit- 
imate, and inheritable to the double portion of the first-horn ; which could not 
be, if the second marriage were not deemed as lawful and valid as the first. 

" bthly. To say that polygamy is sinful, is to make God the author of sin ; for, 
not to forbid that which is evil, but even to countenanceand promote it, is being 
so far the author of it, and accessory to it in the highest degree. And shall we 
dare to say, or even to think, that this is chargeable on Him who is of purer eyes 
than to behold evil, and loho cannot look on iniquity ? (Hab. 1 : 13.) God forbid. 

" When God is upbraiding David, by the prophet Nathan, for his ingratitude 
towards his Almighty benefactor (2 Sam. xii.), he does it in the following 
terms: — ver. 8, — I gave thee thy master's house, and tht master's wives 
unto thy bosom, and I gave thee the house of Israel and Juddh, and if that had 
been too little, 1 would moreover have given thee such and such things. 

" Can we suppose God giving more wives than one into David's bosom, who 
already had more than one, if it was sin in David to take them ? Can we imag- 
ine that God would thus transgress (as it were) his own commandment in one 
instance, and yet so severely reprove and chastise David for breaking it in 
another ? Is it not rather plain, from the whole transaction, that David commit- 
ted mortal sin in taking another living man's wife, but not in taking the widows 
of the deceased Saul ; and this, therefore, though the law of God condemned 
the first, yet it did not condemn the second? 

" Qthly. When David took the wife of Uriah, he was severely reprimanded by 
the prophet Nathan ; but after Uriah's death, he takes the same woman, though 
he had other wives before, and no fault is found with him ; nor is he charged 
with the least flaw or Insincerity in his repentance on that account. The child 
which was the fruit of his intercourse with Bathsheba, during her husband 
Uriah's life, God struck to death with his own hand (2 Sam. 12 : 15). Solomon, 
horn of the same woman, begotten by the same man, in a state of polygamy, is 



APPENDIX. 607 

acknowledged by God himself as David's lawful issue (1 Kings 5:5), and as 
such set upon his throne. The law which positively excluded bastards, or those 
born out of lawful wedlock, yw??i the congregation of the Lord^even unto the tenth 
generation (Deut. 23 : 2), is wholly inconsistent with Solomon being employed 
to build God's temple — being the mouth of the peoj^le to God in prayer — and 
offering sacrifices in the temple at its dedication — unless David's marriage with 
Bathsheba was a lawful marriage — Solomon, the laioful issue of that marriage 
— consequently polygamy no sin, either against the primary institution of mar- 
riage, or against the seventh commandment. But so far from Solomon being 
under any disqualification from the lata above mentioned, he is appointed by 
God himself to build the temple (1 Kings 8: 19). His prayer is heard, and 
the house is hallowed (chap. 9 : 3), and filed with such glory, that the priests coidd 
not stand to minister (chap. 8: 11). Solomon, therefore, as well as Samuel, 
stands as a demonstrable proof, that a child born under the circumstances of 
polygamy is no bastard — God himself being the Judge, lohose judgment is accord- 
ing to truth. 

" A more striking instance of God's thoughts on the total difference between 
polygamy and adultery, does not meet us anywhere with more force and clear- 
ness in any part of the sacred history, than in the account which is given us of 
David and Bathsheba, and their issue. 

" When David took Bathsheba, she was another man's wife ; the child which 
he begat upon her in that situation was begotten in adultery — and the thing 
which David had done displeased the Lord (2 Sam. 11 : 27). And what was the 
consequence? We are told, 2 Sam. 12: 1, the Lord sent Nathan the prophet 
unto David. Nathan opened his commission with a most beautiful parable de- 
scriptive of David's crime ; this parable the prophet applies to the conviction of 
the delinquent, sets it home upon his conscience, brings him to repentance, and 
the poor penitent finds mercy — his life is spared, ver. 13. Yet God will vindi- 
cate the honor of his moral government, and that in the most awful manner — 
the murder of Uriah is to be visited upon David and his house. The sword 
shall neoer depart from thine house, ver. 10. The adultery with Bathsheba was 
to be retaliated in the most aggravated manner. Because thou hast despised me, 
and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife, thus saith the Lord, 1 
will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will taJce thy wives 
and give them unto thy neighbor before thine eyes ; and he shall lie icith thy wives 
in sight of the sun ; for thou didst it secretly, but L ivill do this thing before all 
Israel, and before the sun. All this was shortly fulfilled in the rebellion and in- 
cest of Absalom, chap. 16 : 21, 22. And this was done in the way o? judgment 
on David for taking and defiling the wife of Uriah, and was included in the 
curses threatened (Deut. 28 : 30) to the despisers of God's laws. 

" As to the issue of David's adulterous commerce with Bathsheba, it is written, 
2 Sam. 12: 15, The Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and 
it was very sick. What a dreadfiJ scourge this was to David, who could not but 
read his crime in his punishment, the following verses declare — wherein we 
find Da^^ad almost frantic with grief. However, the child's sickness was unto 
death, for, ver. 18, on the seventh day the child died. 



608 APPENDIX. 

" Now, let us take a view of David's act of polygamy, when, after Ui'iali's 
death, he added Bathsheba to his other wives (ver. 24, 25). And David com- 
forted Batlisheha his wife, and went in unto her and lay ivith her, and she iare a 
son, and he called his name (n^aViC) Selomoh (that makeih. peace and reconcilia- 
tio7i, or recompense'), and the Lord loved him. Again we find Nathan, who had 
been sent on the former occasion, sent also on this, but with a very different 
message. And he (the Lord) sent hy the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he 
called his ?2a?ne Jedidiah (JDilectus Domini — Beloved of the Lord), because 
of the Lord, — i. e., because of the favor God had towards him (ver. 24). 

" Let any read onward through the whole history of Solomon ; let them con- 
sider the instances of God's peculiar favor towards him already mentioned, and 
the many others that are to be found in the account we have of him ; let them 
compare God's dealings with the unhappy issue of David's adultery, and this 
happy offspring of his polygamy, and if the allowance and approhation of the 
latter doth not as clearly appear as the condemnation and punishment of the 
former, surely all distinction and difference must be at an end, and the Scrip- 
ture itself lose the force of its own evidence. 

" Ithly. I have mentioned the law being explained by the prophets. These 
were extraordinary messengers which God raised up and sent forth under a 
si^ecial commission, not only to foretell things to come, but to preach to the peo- 
ple, to hold forth the law, to point out their defections from it, and to call them 
to repentance, under the severest terms of God's displeasure unless they obeyed. 
Their commission, in these respects, we find recorded in Isa. 58 : 1, Cry aloud, 
spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet : Show my people their transgression, 
and the house of Jacob their sins. This commission was to be faithfully executed 
at the peril of the prophet's own destruction, as appears from the solemn charge 
given to Ezekiel, chapter 3 : 18, When L say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, 
and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked to save his life, 
the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, hut his blood will I require at thine hand. 

" These prophets executed their commissions very unfaithfully towards God 
and the people, as well as most dangerously for themselves, if polygamy was a 
sin against God's law, for is was the common practice of the whole nation, from 
the prince on the throne to the lowest of the people ; and yet neither Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, nor any one of the prophets, bore the least testimony against it. 
They reproved them sharply and plainly for defiling their neighbors' wives, as 
Jer. 5 : 8. 29 : 23, in which fifth chapter we not only find the prophet bearing 
testimony against adidtery, but against whoredom and fornication (ver. 7), for 
that they assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. Not a word 
ag-dinst polygamy. How is it possible, in any reason, to think that this, if a sin, 
should never be mentioned as such by God, by Moses, or any one of the 
prophets ? * 

* Some have considered Malachi 11 : 14, 15, as a denunciation of polygamy. But a 
careful comparison of these verses with the 11th verse and with the state of the Jews at 
that time, as described in Ezra 10 and 11 chapters, and Nehemiah 13 : 23-31, will show 
that the prophet had then no reference to polygamy, but was reproving the Jews for " hav- 
ing married the daughters of a strange god ; " that is, heathen wives, which was strictly 
forbidden by the laws of Moses. Deut. 7: 3. Exo. 34: 16. — D. 0. A. 



APPENDIX. 609 

" Lastly. In the Old Testament, polygamy was not only allowed in all cases, 
but in some commanded. Here, for example, is the law (Deut. 25 : 5-10), If 
brethren dwell together, and one of them die and have no child, the wife of the 
dead shall not inarry without unto, a stranger : her husband's brother shall go in 
unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's 
brother unto her. And it shall be that the frst-born which she beareth shall suc- 
ceed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of 
Israel, etc. 

" This law must certainly be looked upon as an exception from the general 
law (Lev. 18 : 16), and the reason of it appears in the law itself, namely, ' To 
preserve inheritances in the families to which they belonged.' ... As there was 
no law against polygamy, there was nothing to exempt a married man from the 
obligation of marrying his brother's widow. . . . For, let us suppose that not 
only the surviving brother, but all the near kinsmen, to whom the marriage of 
the widow and the redemption of the inheritance belonged, were married men 

— if that exempted them from the obligation of this law — as they could not 
redeem the inheritance unless they married the widow (Ruth 4 : 5) — the end of 
this important law must in many cases be defeated — the widow be tempted to 
marry a stranger — to put herself and the inheritance into his hands — and the 
whole reason assigned for the law itself, that of raising up seed to the deceased, 
to preserve the inheritance in his family, that his name be not put out of Israel 

— fall to the ground. For which weighty reasons, as there was evidently no 
law against polygamy, there could be no exemption of a man from the positive 
duty of this law because he was married. As we say, Ubi cadit ratio, ibi idem 
jus." — Yol. i. pp. 108, 131, 260, 267 ; vol. ii. p. 244, 402. 



Appendix D. p. 585. 

An acquaintance with the Hindu sacred books will at once show that no one 
who has been educated in modern science and literature, can have any confi- 
dence in their divine origin. The accounts which the Purans give of the crea- 
tion of the world, of the form of the earth, of different countries, of astronomy, 
philosophy, and many other subjects, are not only unreasonable and absurd, but 
are at variance with well-known facts. The same Purans contain accounts of 
the Hindu deities, describing their immoral conduct and odious character, and 
inculcating their worship by the performance of degrading rites and disgusting 
ceremonies. It was obvious to Europeans on becoming acquainted with the 
contents of these works, that the Hindus would believe them no longer than 
they continued in a state of ignorance of nearly all the world beyond their own 
country. It was evident that a knowledge of Christianity and of European 
science and literature would destroy all confidence in the popular superstitions 
of India, and leave the people in a state of scepticism, or lead them to embrace 
some system of religion founded on more reason and truth. 

Such expectations have been realized. The progress of Christianity, the dif- 



610 APPENDIX. 

fusion of general knowledge, and education in European science and literature 
aroused the native mind to inquiry and reflection, and many intelligent and dis- 
cerning Hindus became satisfied that a large portion of their reputed sacred 
books had no just claim to divine authority. They saw that the Hindu religion, 
as exhibited in the popular creed and generally practised, was no longer credi- 
ble and so must either be reformed or abandoned. The first man who took an 
open and public stand and fearlessly declared his views on this subject, was Ram 
Mohun Roy, who subsequently acquired much celebrity in India, Europe, and 
America as a Hindu reformer. He was a man of much general learning and 
had given special attention to the Vedas. In these works he found the doctrine 
of one God, " the God of the whole world," and beheving this to be the basis 
and sum of all true religion, and the other doctrines and precepts of the Vedas 
to be sufficient for all the practical purposes of life, he fixed on them as being 
the original and genuine Hindu Scriptures, and rejected the Purans as mere 
human compositions, as legends, fables, and fictions. He felt a strong sympathy 
with his erring and deluded countrymen, and having, as he believed, found the 
truth, he determined to do Avhat he could to communicate it to others. With 
much trouble and expense he collected the Upanishads (works containing ex- 
tracts from the Vedas and commentaries upon their docti-Ines), translated them 
into the vernacular language, and circulated them. He incurred much censure 
from his family and friends and much obloquy from the native community, but 
he persevered year after year in what he felt was a good cause. He also pub- 
lished some other works, among which was one called " the Precepts of Jesus," 
or selections from the New Testament, all designed to enlighten and reform his 
countrymen. Other Hindus gradually embraced his views, and in 1830, in 
order to give public expression of their sentiments and to promote the reforma- 
tion they had begun, they estabhshed what they called the Bralim Sabha; 
a regularly organized society with religious meetings, somewhat after the 
model of Christian assemblies, in which the Upanishads should be read and ex- 
plained, and the worship of Brahm (the Supreme Being, not Brahma, the first 
of the Hindu Triad) should be performed with prayers and praise. These 
assemblies were not large, but their pecuhar sentiments, the reputation for learn- 
ing and piety of those who composed them, and the manner in which they con- 
ducted their worship, excited for a while much attention among the native 
population. 

Ram Mohun Roy left India for England near the close of 1830. It was his in- 
tention to return and devote his life to the cause of reforming his countrymen ; but 
he died in England in 1833. After his departure from India the Brahm Sabha 
gradually declined and little was heard of it for some years. In the mean time 
the causes and circumstances in which the Brahm Sabha originated, continued to 
operate with increasing force, and in 1839 it was resuscitated, or rather a new 
Society embracing its essential religious principles with a superior and more defi- 
nite organization under a new name, the Tattwahodhini Sabha, was formed. One 
avowed object of this new society was to propagate their principles and to gain 
converts to their creed. For this purpose they established branch societies and 
opened schools in several large cities. They collected a library of rehglous 



APPENDIX. 611 

works in the Sanscrit, Bengalee, and English languages. They obtained a 
printing-press (it was a donation from one of the members) and issued a journal 
containing the principles of the Society, and urging all Hindus to become mem- 
bers of it. They have professed to rely much upon the press for the propaga- 
tion of their sentiments, and have published many works on religious subjects. 
Some of their works have been in Sanscrit, some have been in the vernacular 
languages, and some have been in English. They found great difficulty in de- 
termining what to select from the great mass of Hindu sacred writings for the 
basis of their faith, and also what to reject and what to reform and retain, of the 
popular superstitions, traditions, rites, and usages. On these subjects there was 
much difference of opinion among the members, and great interest was felt in 
their proceedings by some Europeans. In 1850, a work was published by au- 
thority, which contained a declaration of their principles and the creed of those 
who became members. This work is called Brahm Dharma or the Doctrines of 
Brahm, and calls the members Brdhmas or worshippers of Brahm, the Supreme 
God. This class of religionists are also called in some works Brahmists which 
appears to be a more appropriate name. From this work it appears that they have 
constructed their religion upon a broader basis than the brahminical system. They 
say, " the doctrines of the Brahmas or spiritual worshippers of God, are founded 
upon a broader and more unexceptionable basis than the Scriptures of any single 
religious denomination in the earth. The volume of nature is open to aU, and 
that volume contains a Revelation clearly teaching, in strong and legible charac- 
ters, the great truths of religion and morality; giving as much knowledge of our 
state after death as is necessary for the attainment of future blessedness ; yet 
adapted to the present state of our mental faculties. Now as the Hindu religion 
contains notions of God and of human duty, which coincide with that Revela- 
tion, we have availed ourselves of extracts from works which are great deposito- 
ries of the national faith, and which have the advantage of national associations 
On their side, for disseminating the principles of pure religion among our coun- 
trymen." 

They believe in the existence of beings whom they call gods, but do not 
recognize them as possessing any qualities, or having any agency in human 
affairs, which properly make them objects of religious worship. They, appear 
to regard them as resembling the angels In the Jewish and Christian system. — 
*' Brahm is the Supreme God of all the gods." — " The gods incessantly worship 
the Supreme Brahm." — " He Is the Lord of the gods." — " All the gods offer 
him worship." 

Idolatry is discarded in their creed, but is excused and defended in their works. 
Referring to some places in the Vedic writings, Ram Mohun Roy says : — 
" These as well as other texts of the same nature are not real commands but 
only direct those who are unfortunately Incapable of adoring the invisible Su- 
preme Being, to apply their minds to any visible object rather than allow them 
to remain Idle." — " We come now to that part of the doctrines of the Vedas, 
which inculcates that those who cannot tvirn their minds to God in spirit, should 
worship him through the medium of matter. There are men of that grovelling 
class, whose minds are incapable of making a proper degree of exertion, and 



612 APPENDIX. 

tliese are required not to lose themselves in the mazes of irreligion, the bane of 
society, but rather to fix their attention on some of the grandest objects of the 
world, and consider them to be so many manifestations of the supremacy of the 
only true God who pervades all creation ; and to worship them as so animated 
by his influence that thus their minds may be gradually trained by spiritual intu- 
ition to the true mental adoration of the Supreme Being. Such injunctions 
were mercifully made for the benefit of the ignorant and untrained." — " The 
rites and ceremonies inculcated in the Vedas are intended to be preparatory to 
the spiritual worship of God, and are expressly declared to be useful to men 
who cannot raise their minds from nature up to nature's God." — The Patrika 
their authorized journal says, " AVe believe that every kind of worshipper will 
Tiave his own species of reward, from the savage Polynesian, who addresses his 
ejaculations to a rude misshapen block of stone, to the Vedantist who adores 
God in spirit and in truth." This sentiment would excuse and justify nearly or 
quite all the kinds of idolatry and worship in India. 

The Brahmists believe in the doctrine of transmigration, and that those who are 
not prepared for blessedness at death, must pass through successive births on the 
earth till they become prepared. Whether their views are that there are inter- 
vals of reward and punishment between these births, or that these births imme- 
diately succeed death as the reward and punishment of the previous birth, does 
not appear plain. — The Patrika says : " The man who is ignorant and impure 
gains not the rank (is not admitted to the presence) of Brahm at death, but 
returns to the world. The wise man having gained that dignity, is born no 
more. The man who in this world is able to know God, accomplishes the ob- 
ject of his birth ; having perceived God, he is removed entirely from this world 
and dies no more." " Our religion inculcates that our good and bad actions shall 
all incAitably receive their proportionate reward and punishment, with the 
exception only of expiated sin, conformably to the exact extent which is neces- 
sary for the purpose of reformation and encouragement ; that we shall thus have 
to pass a state of probation during successive lives of longer or shorter duration, 
until we are fitted by sacred knowledge and entire devotion to the divine wiU 
of God to enjoy that supreme felicity which may be said to be a participation 
of the divine nature." 

The Brahmists retain the distinctions of caste in their system. It is not made 
prominent in their writings, but these contain nothing against caste, while they 
receive and declare their full belief in the Upanishads, wliich declare caste to 
be of divine origin. The members of the Dharma Sabha also carefully observe 
all the rules of caste among themselves and in their intercourse with others, and 
they have shown great zeal in opposing those who wish to weaken and destroy 
it. Their retaining and observing caste, shows that they have yet very inadequate 
views of the changes required to place the Hindus in the social, intellectual, and 
moral state which they profess to be seeking in this reformation. 

The Brahm Dharma, which is the authorized exponent of their system of 
reformed Hinduism, contains the following : — 



APPENDIX. 613 



PRINCIPLES OP RELIGION. 

" 1. Before tlie production of this world tliere existed only tlie Supreme 
Bralim ; nothing else existed whatsoever. He created all this. 

" 2. He is wisdom, eternity, joy, and goodness personified ; the everlasting, 
ruler of all ; all-wise, without form, one only without a second, most wonderful 
in power. 

" 3. From his worship alone is happiness produced both here and hereafter. 

" 4. That worship consists in loving him and performing actions which give 
him pleasure." 

The following is the Covenant of the Society for all who become members : — 

" 1. This day, the day of the month of , in the year , I adopt 

the religion of the worshippers of Brahm. 

" 2. I will live devoted to the worship of that one Supreme Brahm, who is 
the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer of the universe ; the cause of 
deliverance ; all-wise ; all-pervading ; fuU of joy ; the good ; and without form. 
I will worsliip him with love and by doing things that will give him pleasure. 

" 3. I wIU worship no created thing as the Supreme Brahm, the Creator of all. 

" 4. Except on days of sickness or calamity, I will every day when my mind 
shall be at rest, in faith and love, fix my thoughts on the Supreme. 

" 5. I will live earnest in the practice of good deeds. 

" 6. I will endeavor to live free fron^vll deeds. 

" 7. If overcome by temptation I perchance do any thing evil, I will surely 
desire to be freed from It and be careful for the future. 

" 8. Every year and in all my worldly prosperity I will oflFer gifts to the 
Brahm Sumaj. 

" O God, grant unto me strength that I may entirely observe this excellent 
religion." 

The members of this Society carry their principles into effect by social relig- 
ious worship. The following is a description of the manner in which their wor- 
ship is conducted. 

" The Society has from the first endeavored to consolidate itself and cultivate 
devout feeUngs among its members by the celebration of regular worship. For 
this purpose the followers of this doctrine, whether members of the Tattwabo- 
dhinl Sabha or not, meet on "Wednesday evenings as a Bralim Sumaj (an assem- 
bly of the worshippers of Brahm) at the premises of the Society In the Chitpore 
Koad. Their long hall has been neatly fitted up with pews, rising backward 
from the centre to the two ends, and well lighted by chandeliers and wall-shades. 
In the middle of the hall upon a dais of grained marble sit the two pundits, the 
leaders in the worship, and in a recess immediately opposite to them are the mu- 
sicians. The service commences with the reading of various passages from the 
Vedas. The Gayutree* is then recited and meditated upon. A hj-mn from one 
of the Upanishads is then chanted by all present. An exposition of texts from 

* Page 400, note. 
52 



614 APPENDIX. » 

the Vedas, or an essay on some branch of natural theology then follows. The 
president or some member of the Sabha then gives a short discourse, and the 
service closes with the singing of Brahmic hymns by the professional musicians, 
who accompany it with their instruments. The whole service occupies about 
an hour." 

There are some things in this Society for reforming the Hindu rehglon (or 
rather the Hindus, for they do not profess to limit their principles to the original 
doctrines of the Hindus) which appear well. Their principles and their creed 
are avowed and pubHshed. Their house of worship is open for all, whether 
members of their Society or not, to meet and join with them. If there is any 
mystery or mysticism connected with them, it must be in their doctrines and not 
in their proceedings or practices. From 1846 to 1851, the average number of 
members of the Society in Calcutta exceeded 500. It is reported to have some- 
what declined for 3 or 4 years past. 



INDEX. 



Abbe Dubois, Letters on the State of 
Christianity in India, 516, 517, 520, 
522. 

Aboriginal inhabitants of India, 21-23 ; 
33; 361-363. 

Acber, Emperor, 103, 104 ; his system 
of revenue, 105 ; reforms the army, 
106 ; his splendor, 106, 107 ; his relig- 
ious sentiments, 108-110; 506-510; 
his popularity, 110; his death, 110; 
his tomb, 110, note. 

Adjunta cave temples, 392. 

Afghan war, 273-279. 

Agriculture in India, rude and imperfect, 
440. 

Ahmed Shah Abdallee, invades India, 
145 ; defeats the Mahrattas at Panni- 
put, 146. 

Albuquerque, Viceroy, 162-163 ; his sin- 
gular policy, 511. 

Alexander the Great, his invasion of In- 
dia, 27-31. 
~ Alia ud Deen, Emperor, 74-82. 

Allahabad, suicides at, 420. 

Altumsh, Emperor, 60-62. 

Almeida, Francisco, Viceroy of India, 
161-163. 

American Missions, origin, 535. 

Amherst, Lord, Governor-General of In- 
dia, 559-566. 

Arcot or Carnatic, Nabob of, 233, 238, 
239. 

Army of the East India Company, 306- 
311. 

Architecture — houses, 451 ; vessels, 451, 
452. 

Assaye, battle of, 243, 311. 

Astronomy of the Hindus, 454, 455. 

Auckland, Governor-General of India, 
271-277. 

Aurungzeb, Emperor, defeats his brother 
Dara, 120 ; confines his father for life, 
120-122 ; seizes and confines his brother 
Morad, 126 ; defeats his brother Shuja, 
126 ; defeats his brother Dara and 
causes his assassination, 127 ; betrays 
and confines his son Mohammed, 129 ; 



his device to defeat Bistimia, 130 ; his 
war with the Rajpoots, 131 ; proceeds 
into the Deckan, 132 ; his camp, 133 ; 
his war with the Mahrattas, 134 ; his 
death and grave, 135 ; his diaracter, 
136-138. 

Austerities, prescribed to brahmins, 406. 

Baber, invades India and becomes Em- 
peror, 94, 95 ; his war with the Raj- 
poots, 96 ; his death and character, 97, 
98. 

Bahadur Shah, Emperor, 139. 

Barlow, Sir George, Governor-General, 
249. 

Barnwell, Mr., Member of Council, 289. 

Bejapoor, monuments and ruins, 149. 

Bentinck, Lord William, Governor-Gen- 
eral, 267-269. 

Beylol Lodi, Emperor, 93. 

Bhurtpore, besieged and taken, 266-270. 

Bible Societies in India, 561. 

Black hole, English confined in, 174. 

Board of Control, 194. 

Bombay, temperature at, 6 ; becomes an 
English possession, 231. 

Brahma, 374, 375. 

British conquest of India, Remarks, etc. 
on, 286-297. 

Budhism, 34 ; 484-488. 

Burials, Hindu, 401. 

Burmese War, 260-265. 

Burns, Sir A., 272, 275. 

Bussy, M., 211. 

Cabral, Alvarez, 156; his barbarity, 157. 

Calcutta, temperature at, 5, 173; con- 
finement, etc. of the English in the 
black hole at, 174, 175; commerce of, 
440 ; early mission at, 532-534. 

Campbell, Sir A., 261, 265. 

Canals, 445, 446. 

Catechists, number in India, 551, 575. 

Caste, origin, 465-467 ; nature, 469-472 ; 
laws concerning, 472 ; memorial to Par- 
liament, 473, 479 ; Romanists observe 
it, 517-519; how regarded in Protes- 
tant missions, 549-551 . 

Cave-temples, 391. 

(615) 



616 



INDEX. 



Charter of the East India Company, 298. 

Chunclragupta, Raja of ]\Iagadi, 31. 

Christian Literature in India, how much 
needed, 564, 565; how far supplied, 
566.. 

Christianity, hqw the natives of India re- 
gard it, 579-582. 

Chittledroog, fort of, 223. 

Chronology, Hindu, 19, 24. 

Civil Service of the East India Company, 
301, 302. 

Clavering, General, 189. 

Clive, Lord, 175; gains the battle of 
Plassey, 177, 178; receives large sums 
of money, 178, ISO; appointed Gov- 
ernor, 184, 185 ; at Madras, 204. 

Clive's Eund, 185. 

Commerce in India, 438-440. 

Complexion of the people of India, 474. 

Conajee Angria, 232. 

Coorg, Raja of, deposed, 267. 

Coote, 8fl- Eyre, defeats the French at 
Vfandewash, 215 ; defeats Hyder Ali, 
225. 

Cornwallis, Lord, Governor- General, 194; 
his svstem of revenue, 195-198; 227, 
228; 'his death, 248. 

Cotton, cultivation of, 442-445. 

Courts in India, 304, 305. 

Cuttub ud Deen, Emperor, 60. 

Cuttub Minar, 62, tiote. 

Dalhousie, Marquis of, Governor-General, 
his law concerning caste, 472. 

Dancing in India, 481. 

Dara S'heko, son of Shah Jehan, 117, 118, 
120, 127. 

Darius, King of Persia, his invasion of 
India, 27. 

Debts and Einances of the East India 
Company, 31.5-317. 

Deities, minor, of the Hindus, 373, 383. 

Demonolatry, 384. 

Devotees, 407, 408. 

Dost Mohammed, 273, 278. 

Dramatic exhibitions, 480. 

Dupleix, Governor-General of Pondi- 
cherry, 203, 205-208, 212, 213. 

East India Company, origin of, 167. 

Ecclesiastical Establishment of India, 
303, 358. 

Education, Government system of, 317- 
325 ; missionary, 566-573. 

Electric Telegraph in India, 329. 

Elephanta cave-temple, 391. 

Elephants, 14. 

Elora cave-temples, 393-395. 

Ellenborough, Lord, Governor-General, 
277-281. 

Elphinston-e, Hon. M., his opinion of the 

Hindu religion, 427. 
Endish education in India, 317, 571, 572. 
English language in India, 591-598, 
Ajjpendix. 



Eugene, Pope, his bull, 1 52. 

European population of India, 355 ; char- 
acter, 356-358. 

Ezour Veda, 514. 

Factory, described, 169, 170. 

Female education, 569-571. 

Feroze Shah, Emperor, 63. 

Ferozepore, Nabob of, publicly executed, 
268. 

Francis, Mr. Philip, Member of Council, 
189, 192. 

Frazer, Mr., assassinated, 268. 

French power in India, 201, 204, 211, 
213; 217-219. 

Friend of India, paper, 353. 

Futtypoor, 108. 

Future state, Hindu ideas of, 409-411 ; 
births, 412, 415. 

Gama, Vasco de, sails round Africa, 153 ; 
at Calicut, 155; at Lisbon, 156; his 
barbai'ity, 158. 

Gaudama, 486. 

Gayutree, mystical verse, 400, note. 

General Statements and Remarks, 579 ; 
how different classes of the native pop- 
ulation regard Christianity, 579-582; 
scepticism common and increasing in 
India, 581, 582 ; how missionaries treat 
it, 582 ; proposal of a Hindu editor, 
583, 584 ; state of many, educated 
young men in India, 581, 584; effort 
to reform the Hindu system in Calcutta, 
585, and Appendix D. ; appeal of the 
Bishop of Calcutta, 588; conclusion, 
589. 

Ghat mountains, 10. 

Ghias ud Deen Bulbun, Emperor, 67- 
69. 

Ghizni, its splendor, 53 ; plundered, 56. 

Ghori, House of, 56. 

Goa, taken by the Portuguese, 163 ; siege 
of, 165 ; laws at, 511. 

Godheu, M., 212. 

Goddard, General, 234. 

Gods of the Hindus, 373-383. 

Hardinge, Lord, Governor- General, 281. 

Hastings, Marquis, Governor-General, 
254-259. 

Hastings, Warren, first Governor-Gen- 
eral of India, 187; his system of reve- 
nue, 188; at Benares, 189, 191; dis- 
sensions in his council, 190 ; returns to 
England and is impeached and acquit- 
ted" 192, 193. 

Heaven of the Hindus, 409, 410. 
Heber, Bishop, 11 ; interview with the 
Emperor of Delhi, 342-346 ; remarks 
on Hinduism, 430. 
Hell of the Hindus, 410, 411. 
Himalaya mountains, 11. 
Hindu chronology, 19. 
Hindustan, 1. 
Holcar, 236, 241, 247, 249. 



INDEX. 



617 



Holwell, Mr., description of his confine- 
ment in tlie hlach hole, 174. 

Houses in India, 450-452. 

Humayoon, Emperor, 98; flees to Persia, 
99 ; returns to India, 102. 

Hunting wild animals, 480. 

Hyder Ali, 221 ; his wars, 222-225. 

Ibrahim Lodi, Emperor, 94. 

Idolatry, Government connection with, 
331-337. 

Idols, their consecration, 389. 

Indigo, its cultivation, 441. 

Indo-Britons, 359. 

Infanticide, 421. 

Inquisition at Goa, 506. 

Irrigation, 445, 446. 

Jauts, war with, 265. 

Jehanara, daughter of Shah Jehan, 121. 

Jehangheer, Emperor, 111-113. 

Jelal ud Decn, Emperor, 72. 

Jesuits at the Court of Acber, 506-510; 
destroyed Hindu temples, 511 ; at Ma- 
dura, 513, 515, 518. 

Jonah Khan, Emperor, 84-86. 

Jugglers in India, 482. 

Jypal, Raja of Lahore, defeat, 42 ; sacri- 
fices himself, 43. 

Kalidas, 36. 

Karlee cave temples, 392. 

Kei Kobad, Emperor, 70. 

Kennery cave-temples, 392. 

Khiljee, House of, 72, 83. 

Khundoba, temple of, 388. 

Kiernander, Mr. J., his missionary labors 
in Calcutta, 532-534. 

Krishna, 378-381. 

Labourdonnais, attacks and takes Ma- 
dras, 202. 

Lafiteau, 158, 162, note. 

Lake, Lord, his brilliant victories, 243- 
246. 

Lally, Count, besieges and takes St. Da- 
vid, 214; besieges Madras, 215; de- 
feated at Wandewash, 215; his trial 
and execution, 116, 117. 

Law, securing civil and religious liberty in 
India, 548. 

Leprosy of different kinds, 9. 

Macnaghten, Sir W., 276. 

Madras, temperature at, 5 ; obtained by 
the English, 169, 199; taken by the 
French, 202; early missions at, 529- 
531. 

Mahabharat, 368, 379. 

Mahmoud of Ghizni, 43 ; his invasions 
of India, 43-49 ; takes and plunders 
Somnat, 50-52 ; death and character, 
53. 

Mahrattas, origin, 231 ; their power and 
wars, 232-234. 

Manduit, Eather, 518. 

Manufactures of India, 447-450. 

Marriage, 458-462. 

52* 



Medical Service of the East India Com- 
pany, 303. 
Medical education, 318; knoAvledge of, 

among the Hindus, 457. 
Meer Cossim, ISO,. 182. 
Meer Jaffer, 177, 180. 
Memorial, Hindu, in the House of Lords, 

473. 
Menezes, Archbishop, 501. 
Menu, Institutes of, 366. 
Meru or Sumera, the Hindu heaven, 373. 
Mill, James, remarks on his History of 

India, 150, 151. 
Minto, Lord, Governor-General, 251-253. 
Mirage, 8, note. 

Mission Churches, number in India, 542. 
Mohammedans, number in India, 488 ; 

princes, 489 ; polygamy, 490 ; Koran, 

491 ; saints, 492 ; controversy, 492 ; 

progress, 493. 
Mohammed Caussim, 38-40. 
Mohammed Toghluck, Emperor, his put- 
lie Avorks, 88. 
Mohammedan Government of India, Ee- 

marks upon, 148-151. 
Moguls, 61, 65, 78, 85. 
Monson, Colonel, 182. 
Multan, siege of, 282. 
Music of the Hindus, 452. 
Nadir Shah, 142 ; invades India and 

plunders Delhi, 143-145. 
Napier, Sir Charles, war in Scinde, 279. 
Nasir ud Deen, Emperor, 66. 
Native missionary agency, 573 ; need of 

it, 574-577. * 
Native views of the English Government 

341-352. 
Nellore mutiny, 250. 
Nepaul war, 254. 
Nizam ul Mulk, 141. 
Noor Jehan, 111 ; her character, 112. 
Opium, trade of, 314, manufacture of, 442. 
Ornaments, fondness for, 475. 
Oude and Lucknow, Nabob of, 239. 
Painting of the Hindus, 453. 
Panniput, great battle of, 146. 
Patna massacre, 182. 
Parsees, number of, 494 ; scriptui-es and 

temples, 495 ; burials, 495 ; character, 

496. 
Perjury and briberj', 483. 
Pilgrimage to sacred places, 396. 
Pindarees, 256-258. 
Plassey, battle of, 177. 
Polygamy, 462-465 ; 551-554 ; 601-009, 

Ajypendix. 
Popham, Major, 234. 
Population of India, 14. 
Portuguese sail round Africa, 153 ; their 

barbaritv, 164 ; their power and decline, 

165, 166'. 
Poms, Raja, 28. 
Prayers, how ijerfonned, 403. 



618 



INDEX. 



Preaching, its place in missionary opera- 
tions, 554-559. 

Press in India, made free, 270. 

Princes, Native, 338-341 ; Emperor of 
Delhi, 341-346. 

Public works, 326 ; canals, 328. 

Purans, 367, 404. 

Eailroads in India, 329-331. 

llama or Kamchundra, 378. 

Kemarks on the British conquest of India, 
286-297. 

Remarks on the Government of India, 
346-354. 

Revenue of India, 312-314. 

Rezia, Sultana, 63-65. 

Rites, Hindu, 399. 

Robert de-Nobili, his remarkable conduct, 
513. 

Roe, Sir Thomas, 114. 

Roman Catholics, festivals, 519 ; observe 
caste, 517-519 ; number and character, 
421-525. 

Russia, intrigues in central Asia, 272, 278. 

Sacred days, 399. 

Sacred places, 397. 

Sacrifices, 402 ; human, 425. 

Sanders, Mr., Governor of Madras, 212. 

Sanscrit language and literature, 431- 
435; 59S-&01, Appendix. 

Sattara, Raja of, deposed, 271. 

Schwartz, 521. 

Scinde, war of, 279. 

Scindia, 236, 241. 

Sculpture of the Hindus, 453. 

Self-torture, 422. 

Seringham temple, 386, note. 

Seringapatam, siege of, 230. 

Shahab ud Deen, Emperor, 56-58. 

Shah Namah, 53. 

Shalewahun, 37. 

Shah Jehan, Emperor, 114 ; his liberality, 
115 ; his family, 117 ; confined for life, 
122; his wealth, 123. 

Shah Shuja, 273, 277. 

Shekh Allai, 100. 

Shere Shah, 99, 100. 

Sheriar, 115. 

Sheva, his character and worship, 381- 
383. 

Shevajee, founder of the Mahratta em- 
pire, 131. 



Shuja, 117, 126, 128, 129. 

Shradh, 401. 

Sikhs, 141, 251, 280-285. 

Somnat temple, 49 ; taken and plundered, 

51, 52. 
Steam navigation in India, 440. 
Subuctagee, 42. 
Suicide, 420. 
Sultan Ibrahim, 55. 
Supreme Being, Hindu ideas of, 368- 

372. 
Suraja Dowla, 173-176, 178. 
Surat, Nabob of, 237. 
Suttee, 269, 347, 417-419. 
Syrian Christians in Malabar, 499-503. 
Tables showing the state of Missions in 

India and Ceylon, 53S,' 589. 
Tamerlane invades India and plunders 

Delhi, 91-93. 
Tanjore, Raja of, 238, 531. 
Taj Mahal, 124. 
Temples, 387 ; Cave do., 391. 
Teignmouth, Lord, (Sir John Shore,) 

Governor-General, 199. 
Thuggism, 423-427. 
Tippoo Sultan, 226-230; 516, 517. 
Thomas, St., traditions of, in India, 497. 
Toghluck, House of, 83. 
Tranquebar, Missions in, 525-530. 
Translations of the Scriptures in India, 

559-564. 
Transmigration of souls in future births, 

411-415. 
Travancore, Raja of, 251. 
Trichinopoly, siege of, 209-211. 
Vansittart, Mr., 180. 
Vedas, 362-365 ; 368-373. 
Vernacular languages of India, 433-438. 
Vicram, 36. 
Vishnu, 375-381. 
Vows, 404, 420. 
Wellesley, Marquis, Governor- General, 

229-248. 
Wellesley, Sir Arthur, 242. 
Widows burned alive, 419 ; state of, in 

India, 461. 
Worship, Hindu, 399. 
Xavier, Francis, 504, 505, 506, note. 
Zamorin of Calicut, 155, 157, 159-161. 
Ziegenbalg, 525-528. 



